Covid-19 Gives China And Russia A Strategic Advantage, Says U.S. Army

Covid-19 could give China and Russia a strategic edge over the U.S., according to a U.S. Army study. The reason? Authoritarian nations can devote resources to weapons rather than pandemic relief. "It is likely that the effects of the pandemic, particularly in the medium-to-long term, will fall relatively evenly among the United States and its two primary adversaries, China and Russia," the Army concluded. However, while we expect that the overall effects will be balanced, it is highly likely that Chinese and Russian public sector technology investment and defense spending—including military modernization— will suffer less, in relative terms, than they…