Russia backs China over Taiwan

Following the passing of  an anti-secession law by China directed at Taiwan, Russia has come out firmly on the side of China.

"The law outlines the key priority of the
Chinese government – peaceful methods of the country’s unification
within the framework of the ‘one state – two systems’ policy and
readiness to take maximum goodwill efforts for this purpose," the
Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.

"Russia adheres to the principled position on
this issue. There is only one China in the world with Taiwan being its
integral part. Therefore, we come out against Taiwan’s independence,"
the Foreign Ministry stressed.

Russia and China are often talked of as allies these days, and their ties probably closer than at any time in the last century.  But bear in mind that their relationship prior to the last few years has been abysmal.  Even while both were Communist regimes, they managed to find an excuse to fight a small border war. 

Today, each state sees the other as a strategic competitor.  Russia in particular is beginning to become seriously concerned about the growing economic strength of China relative to its own.  Their friendship today is about as superficial as it gets.

While Russia finds it politically expedient to offer China vocal support right now, expect the Kremlin to lose its voice if an actual conflict ever does erupt across the Taiwan Straits.