The weekend’s brief mutiny against Moscow by the Wagner mercenary group has stoked serious alarm in Beijing, becoming a cautionary tale for China as it bolsters its military muscle with an eye on self-ruled Taiwan.
The armed insurrection ended with Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin effectively exiled to Belarus and his mercenaries halting a planned march on Moscow, but the upheaval — which put Russian President Vladimir Putin on the back foot — highlighted how wartime chaos can weaken powerful leaders.
Considering this, experts have played down the possibility of China’s leaders ordering an attack on democratic Taiwan in the near future.