Russia is helping China close gap with US forces amid Taiwan tensions, warns longtime military leader
Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery has warned that Russia’s growing military partnership with China could reduce a key US advantage in any future conflict over Taiwan. He said Moscow may be supplying technology that makes Chinese submarines quieter and harder for the US Navy to detect, while China helps sustain Russia’s war effort.
Montgomery described the exchange as involving submarine, airborne and missile technology, arguing that it could strengthen China’s ability to challenge US forces and allies in the Indo-Pacific. The warning comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan, though the article does not provide independent evidence of the alleged technology transfers.
In short
- Russia may help China make submarines harder to detect.
- A former admiral warns this could affect Taiwan deterrence.
- China and Russia are deepening military co-operation.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The Russia-China military partnership represents a genuine strategic threat because it could erode crucial US advantages in the Indo-Pacific during a critical period of rising tensions over Taiwan. When revisionist powers share military technology and coordinate their military-industrial capacity, they can accelerate capability development in ways they might not achieve individually. Russia possesses mature submarine and missile technology born from decades of competition with the West, whilst China has invested heavily in manufacturing and innovation—the combination is strategically concerning even if individual transfers are difficult to verify publicly.
The case against
Without independent verification, these claims rest primarily on a retired officer's assessment, and such warnings serve institutional interests in maintaining defence budgets and geopolitical focus. China has been successfully developing its own advanced military capabilities for years and is not as dependent on Russian technology as suggested, whilst Russia's own military has been notably degraded by its Ukraine campaign, raising questions about what meaningful advantage it could transfer. Additionally, the integration of different military systems across two nations with distinct defence cultures is far more complex than simple technology transfers, and such cooperation claims are often exaggerated in public discourse to justify strategic posturing.
Explained simply
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, while Taiwan has its own elected government and military. The United States has close ties with Taiwan and supplies it with defensive arms, making a crisis across the Taiwan Strait a concern for countries across the Indo-Pacific.
The United States and China are also competing to shape security in the region, where submarines, aircraft and missiles play an important role. Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery says Russia may be sharing military technology with China as the two countries deepen cooperation, while China supports Russia’s war effort.
If such transfers are taking place, they could affect how well US forces and their regional partners can detect and respond to Chinese military activity. The alleged transfers have not been independently substantiated in the report.