Why do ya'll assume things happen in a vacuum? NATO has been fukking with Russia for a long time. We declared the western hemisphere our sphere of influence after the American/Spanish war, we nearly started WW3 because the Soviets put missiles in Cuba, we are still holding a grudge against the tiny island nation 60 years later, but folks don't understand how Russia can be paranoid of NATO pushing eastwards into what was once Soviet sphere of influence?
I'd like to see how we react if China had a military treaty alliance with Caribbean nations.