ABSTRACT
Russo-Chinese relations continue to be a crucial factor in Asian and global security. After the demise of the Soviet Union, Russian and Chinese leaders and officials have consistently advocated closer relations and shared a virtual identity of views on current issues in world politics and developing partnership. But looking more closely into two crucial areas of this military relationship, namely Russian military perceptions of China and Russian arms sales to China, it becomes clear that there is a radically different relationship from the carefully contrived performance mounted for outsiders’ benefit. In the last decade there has been a growing apprehension among Russian military and political leaders about the challenges to Russian security in the Far East and unease, even anxiety, about China's rising military potential and objectives. Similarly the field of arms sales to China is no longer sweetness and light but rather a mounting Russian frustration with China's exploitation of the arms sales relationship for its own benefit.
