Military Alliances Led by Russia and China: MMDTs and BMDTs

Written By Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher

https://www.rozen-bakher.com/alliances/rcm

Latest Update: 23 October 2025

COPYRIGHT ©2023-2025 ZIVA ROZEN-BAKHER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Rozen-Bakher, Z, Military Alliances Led by Russia and China, Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher, https://www.rozen-bakher.com/alliances/rcm

Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher

Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher: Monitoring Multilateral Alliances, Including Multilateral Military Defence Treaty (MMDT), Bilateral Military Defence Treaty (BMDT), and Foreign Military Presence, which Have a Geopolitical Impact on Global Order

Rozen-Bakher, Z. Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher https://www.rozen-bakher.com/monitoring-alliances

Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher

Researcher in International Relations and Foreign Policy with a Focus on International Security alongside Military, Political and Economic Risks for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and International Trade

For Military Defence Treaty versus Military Support Treaty versus Military Cooperation, please see Section B2 in Section B. Introduction: Why do we need a Global Survival Rank?, 2024 Global Survival Rank (GSR) by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher, https://www.rozen-bakher.com/gsr/2024/e/introduction

  • B2.1 Basic Key Definitions

    • B2.1.1 Multilateral Military Treaty versus Bilateral Military Treaty

    • B2.1.2 Treaty with Equal Commitment to Defend (Two-Directions) versus Treaty with Non-Equal Commitment to Defend (One-Direction)

    • B2.1.3 Active Military Treaty versus Inactive Military Treaty

  • B2.2 Military Defence Treaty

  • B2.3 Military Support Treaty

  • B2.4 Military Cooperation

    • B2.4.1 Military Cooperation Under Multilateral Trade/Economic/Political Alliances

    • B2.4.2 Joint-Intelligence Multilateral Alliance

    • B2.4.3 Ad-hoc Military Coalition

    • B2.4.4 Presence of Military Bases in Foreign Countries

    • B2.4.5 Joint Military Drills

    • B2.4.6 Selling Weapons and Military Training

Military Alliances Led by Russia and China: MMDTs and BMDTs

Chart of Military Alliances Led by Russia and China with Clear Commitment to Defend in the Case of Attack

  • Green Line: Military Defence Treaty with Two-Directions Clear Commitment to Defend in the Case of Attack, either under Hard-Definition or Soft-definition

  • Orange Line: Military Defence Treaty with One-Direction Clear Commitment to Defend in the Case of Attack, either under Hard-Definition or Soft-definition

  • Blue Line: Multilateral Alliance with Military Cooperation and Joint Military Drills

Bilateral Military Defence Treaties (BMDT) led by Russia or China, either under Hard-Definition or Soft-Definition of Defence in the case of an Attack

List of BMDT led by Russia and China with a Clear Commitment to Defend in the Case of an Attack

Note, dozens of Military Defence Treaties exist worldwide, but most of them lack a commitment to defend in the case of an attack namely, these treaties focus on military cooperation and military aid without a clear commitment to defend each other in the case of an attack by a third party.

  • China-Russia Military Defence Treaty, 2001. The treaty is called the ‘Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation’, yet it includes a ‘Hard-Medium Definition’ of a Military Defence Treaty, namely ”When a situation arises in which one of the contracting parties deems that peace is being threatened and undermined or its security interests are involved or when it is confronted with the threat of aggression, the contracting parties shall immediately hold contacts and consultations in order to eliminate such threats”. That means that in the case of an attack against Russia or China, the two countries will conduct immediately a consultation to eliminate the threat, namely the consultation aims to check if the country can eliminate the threat alone or if the country needs help to eliminate the threat via joint defence. Hence, clearly, Russia and China have a Military Defence Treaty that includes a commitment to defend each other in the case of attack, yet the treaty takes into account that both countries, Russia and China are Big and Strong Countries that can eliminate alone many external threats, and because of that comes the consultation to understand if under a certain attack is needed help to eliminate the threat or not. Considering the above, if will occur a significant attack against Russia and China, then both countries will act together to eliminate the threat via joint defence, yet in the case of an attack against China, then China, Russia and North Korea will fight together against the attack, while in the case of an attack against Russia, then China, Russia and CSTO will fight together against the attack, still, in both cases, Russia and China likely will also get military assistance or even more than that from countries that belong to SCO, BRICS and SIC.

  • China-North Korea Military Defence Treaty, 1961. The treaty is called ‘Sino-North Korean Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance’, yet it includes a ‘Hard Definition’ of a Military Defence Treaty, namely that the two nations undertake all necessary measures to oppose any country or coalition of countries that might attack either nation.

  • Russia-North Korea Military Defence Treaty, 2024. The Soviet Union (USSR) and North Korea had a Military Defence Treaty that was signed in 1961 and it was valid until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 (see https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume 420/volume-420-I-6045-English.pdf). After the dissolution of USSR, Russia and North Korea had a Treaty of Friendship, but without a Military Defence Treaty. On June 2024, Russia and North Korea signed a Military Defence Treaty with  ‘Two Directions’ based on ‘Hard Definition’, so since then, China-Russia-North Korea have Triple Bilateral Defence Treaties.  

  • Russia-Iran Military Defence Treaty, 2025. The new Iran-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty includes a Soft-Definition of Military Defence Treaty between Russia and Iran, which expends the defence backup for Russia in the case of an attack, while creates a defence backup for Iran in the case of an attack. Here are the highlights of the new Military Defence Treaty between Russia and Iran: Article 5 Section 4. “The Contracting Parties shall consult and cooperate in countering common military and security threats of a bilateral and regional nature”. Article 3 Section 3. “In the event that either Contracting Party is subject to aggression, the other Contracting Party shall not provide any military or other assistance to the aggressor which would contribute to the continued aggression, and shall help to ensure that the differences that have arisen are settled on the basis of the United Nations Charter and other applicable rules of international law”. Article 5 Section 1. “The Contracting Parties shall strengthen their relations based on the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, independence, non-interference in the internal affairs of each other, the respect for sovereignty, cooperation and mutual trust”. Article 12. “The Contracting Parties shall facilitate bolstering of peace and security in the Caspian region, Central Asia, Transcaucasia, and the Middle East, cooperate to prevent interference in the specified regions and destabilizing presence of the third states there, and exchange opinions on the situation in other regions of the world”. Article 14. “The Contracting Parties shall deepen cooperation within regional organizations, interact and harmonize positions within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the interests of strengthening its potential in the areas of politics, security, economy, and in cultural and humanitarian spheres, and facilitate the expansion of trade and economic ties between the Eurasian Economic Union and the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

  • Russia–Belarus Treaty on security guarantees within the Union State, 2024. Russia and Belarus are members of CSTO, but this security guarantee gives an additional pilar of military backup in the case of an attack. Importantly, this agreement “taking retaliatory measures not only to acts of aggression committed, but also to threats of their commitment” namely, “to prevent encroachments on security”. (Belarus ratified agreement with Russia on security guarantees).

  • China-Solomon Islands Security Pact, 2022. The China-Solomon Islands Security Pact can be considered as One Direction of a Military Defence Treaty under a ‘Soft Definition’. Based on various open sources, the Security deal between China and the Solomon Islands includes a commitment of China to send military forces in the case of political instability in the Solomon Islands (political instability can occur due to coups, mass protests, riots and such), while in return, the Solomon Islands allows China Naval to use the Solomon Islands as a ‘Military Station’ including conducting aerial surveillance of the pacific islands, and importantly, China has the right to defend its assets and military personnel in Solomon Islands under ‘external threat’, resulting in a Military Defence Treaty de-facto between China and the Solomon Islands, still, it is One Direction of Military Defence Treaty because only China has the commitment to defend the Solomon Islands from Internal and External threats, while the Solomon Islands has no obligation to do the same for China. Notably, the Solomon Islands are located in a strategic location in the Pacific near Australia (see maps below), which gives China a military advantage in that location. Keep in mind, that significant Western countries have colonies in various important locations worldwide (see map below), which usually include military bases in those colonies, so a military pact in the style of China-Solomon Islands gives China a similar alternative to Western military bases in distant colonies.

Bilateral Military Defence Treaties (BMDTs) led by China under Unclear Definition of Defence in the case of an Attack

  • China–Maldives Military Pact, 2024. The China-Maldives Military Pact may has a similarity to the China-Solomon Islands Security Pact namely, according to the agreement China has a commitment to provide a military assistance to Maldives without any costs (Gratis (for free)), but the details were not released about which military assistance China is going to give to Maldives, and importantly, if China has a commitment to give a military assistance to Maldives in the case of an attack. Hence, it is hard to determine if it is BMDT with a commitment to defence in the case of an attack or if it is only a military cooperation. (Maldives signs China military pact in further shift away from India)

  • China-Cook Islands Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) Agreement, 2025. China and Cook Islands did not disclosed the full details about the deal, so it is hard to determine if the deal has a security aspect and if yes, what is the nature of the security aspect.

Multilateral Military Defence Treaties (MMDTs) led by Russia: CSTO and CIS

  • CSTO. CSTO is a Military Alliance led by Russia that has six former Soviet countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Importantly, CSTO has 8 Observer States: Afghanistan, China, Iran, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Syria, and Uzbekistan, which regularly participate in Joint Training/Drills and Military Summits. For Full Details and the latest Membership Status, Please see CSTO - Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher https://www.rozen-bakher.com/alliances/csto

  • CIS. CIS has de-facto Military Defence Treaty. The CIS was formed by former Soviet Union countries following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 based on the Alma-Ata Protocol which includes also Economic, Trade, Political, and Military aspects. At the Military Level, the ‘CIS Council of Defence Ministers’ formed a Military Cooperation among CIS members including the establishment of a Headquarter (MCCH) located in Moscow, while in 1995, CIS established a joint ‘CIS Air Defence System’ that includes Units of Air Defence of the CIS Members under the control of the ‘Air Defence Coordination Committee’ of the ‘CIS Council of Defence Ministers’, with the aim of protecting the Air Boundaries of the CIS members including giving Early Warning for Air/Missile Strikes alongside a Coordination Response to the Air/Missile Strikes, which can be considered as de-facto a Military Defence Treaty of CIS because, in the 21 century, Air/Missile Strikes are always part of an attack and war. Besides, CIS has a unique membership status, namely Associate Member which is reserved for any country that did not ratify the CIS Charter, yet the Council of Heads of States of CIS approved the participation of the country in CIS activities (e.g. Turkmenistan), which makes these countries as de-facto Members of CIS without the formality of the ratifying. For Full Details and the latest Membership Status, Please see CIS - Commonwealth of Independent States - Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher https://www.rozen-bakher.com/alliances/cis

Military Cooperation led by China and Russia via Trade, Economic and Political Alliances

  • BRICS. BRICS is a Global Alliance that includes Trade, Economic and Political aspects and even Military Cooperation via regular Joint Drills. BRICS has already declared its plan that BRICS will have 30 members in 2025, namely adding 20 new members in 2025, likely most of them from the countries that have already given Applications to be a Member of BRICS, as well as from the pool of countries that currently have a status of Dialogue Partners of BRICS. Note, at the 15th Summit, BRICS approved five applications to join BRICS including from Saudi Arabia. Following that, Saudi Arabia declared that the country joined BRICS, but after that, Saudi Arabia declared that formally is yet to confirm its membership in BRICS. Hence, in the 2024 Global Survival Rank, Saudi Arabia is mentioned as a member of BRICS based on the assumption that eventually, Saudi Arabia Formally will confirm its membership in BRICS, still, for the latest Membership Status and full information about the alliance, Please see BRICS - Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher https://www.rozen-bakher.com/alliances/brics-plus

  • SCO. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Regional Alliance led by China that combines issues of Trade, Economics, Politics, and even Security and Military cooperation via Security Summits with the Security Councils of the SCO members, as well as regular Joint Military Drills by the SCO Members and Observer States and even with other Alliances as CIS. SCO aims to include countries from the regions of East-South Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, and East Europe to create territorial continuity among the SCO members. For Full Details and the latest Membership Status, Please see SCO - Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher https://www.rozen-bakher.com/alliances/sco

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Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher

Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher - A Researcher in International Relations with a Focus on Security, Political and Economic Risks for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and International Trade

https://www.rozen-bakher.com/
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