Beijing [China], October 15 (ANI): In an attempt to corner the US, as a part of a global strategy to counter the hegemony of the only super-power, China and Russia are now developing a new bioweapons alliance, reported The Times of Israel.

Moscow and Beijing are developing a deeper axis to leverage their joint muscle and military power in Asia, from Afghanistan to the Far East, are simultaneously using their shared rivalry with the US to corner the lone superpower on the issue of biological weapons, The Times of Israel said.

During the Trump presidency, the US accused Beijing of spreading the virus globally but now Beijing and Moscow are demanding Washington abide by a United Nations convention on biological weapons.

Their joint statement said that "in light of rapid advances in the field of science and technology with dual-use capabilities, the risk of biological agents being used as weapons has increased". The statement wants to limit and keep under check US capabilities in this field, according to The Times of Israel.

The statement came last week during a discussion of the arms control committee of the UN's Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction also known as the Bio-Weapons Convention (BWC).

As China and Russia are ramping up their military cooperation, it was the first time when both have jointly challenged the US on the biological weapons issue.

"In this context [China and Russia] would like to call for attention that the United States' and its allies' overseas military biological activities (over 200 US biological laboratories are deployed outside its national territory, which functions in an opaque and non-transparent manner) cause serious concerns and questions among the international community over its compliance with the BWC," the statement read.

Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, called for the US to agree to a legally binding protocol to the BWC.

He also emphasised that both countries "share the view that such activities pose serious risks for the national security of (Russia and China), and are detrimental to the security of the relevant region".

Moscow and Beijing have strengthened the cooperation largely in defence in recent times. And both countries have coordinated their policies and managed differences, so now neither Vladimir Putin nor Xi Jinping see each other as a threat in their domestic power struggles, The Times of Israel report said.

A national security platform, War On The Rocks, wrote in 2020: "...a sustained US hardline approach against both Russia and China creates common cause between them. US sanctions have pushed the two countries together. The US military presence on both states' peripheries also fosters a shared threat perception. Neither country views US military dominance of their respective regions as acceptable, and both oppose US weapons systems deployments in their regions and are developing deterrent capabilities. The shared intent to counter US capabilities and influence is evident everywhere, from joint air patrols that aggravate the United States and its allies, to Russia's sales of S-400 air defence systems to China to counter US airpower in the Pacific",according to The Times of Israel. (ANI)