re: #109 Macker

Russia’s foreign policy strategy is to entangle the US in as many snares as possible. They can then advance their interests by filling the void or acting at their periphery while the US is busy elsewhere (ie. Georgia). In that sense, Russia is very pleased with the test.

China’s policy is more subtle. They want to advance their influence in the region, without provoking an outright shooting war with the US. They also want to keep North Korea in their sphere of influence. If and when NoKo collapses, it could fall to a re-united Korea under the leadership of South Korea. In that case, China would loose it’s client state. Beijing would prefer a gradual reformation of the Pyonyang regime post-Kim. They want a mini-me version of China, still firmly within their grip, just not so crazy ass. For this reason, China too is happy about the test. It makes the US more compliant on a Chinese solution to the problem.