MOSCOW -- Chinese walk into Vladivostok, Russians occupy Qindao. Amphibious armored vehicles negotiate the surf, jet fighters refuel in the air, troops land on barren beaches. A Hollywood World War III movie? An Internet prank? A hallucination from a crazed war veteran? Nope, they are joint military drills negotiated by Moscow and Beijing in an attempt to impress the world, especially the United States and Japan.
But the world sits unperturbed. China and Russia might have millions of soldiers and their navies look nice on patriotic posters and carefully orchestrated TV broadcasts, but these are colossi with feet of clay.
Just two weeks ago Russia lost a rescue submarine. The Russian Pacific fleet command wasn't sure what actually had happened. Had the rescue vessel got entangled in a fishermen's net? Or had it been an Internet cable, or its own antenna, or seaweed, or maybe a giant squid? In any case, seven men onboard would have surely died if the Americans and the British hadn't rushed rescue vessels to the area.