Russia invests in Pacific Navy.
One of the biggest impediments to China's rise to great power status is the fact that China is surrounded by powerful neighbors. This, for instance, is how Russia is handling it:
The Kremlinâ??s choice of stimulus package is a bit of a throwback, thoughâ??among other things, a new fleet of warships to challenge China. Last week Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a whopping $678 billion package of new defense spending for the next decade, with a quarter of the money going to revamp Russiaâ??s Pacific fleet. On the Kremlinâ??s shopping list: 20 new ships, including a new class of attack submarines, plus new missile subs, frigates, and an aircraft carrier.
