: Since the UEG was formed so easily in 2170 after the defeat of the rebels,
: it's rational to assume that there wasn't any real opposition from the
: traditionally anti-Western countries like Russia and China. That means
: China is no longer Communist in 2160, but pro-Western, which was bound to
: happen anyway. Russia will likewise be pro-Western.

: However, that raises the following question: if there is no longer a powerful
: communist country on Earth by 2160, where do the communist Koslovics get
: their support from? Did they simply form a more-or-less guerrilla movement
: with support from workers from the colonies? If that's the case... no
: wonder they got their asses kicked so easily.

Actually, scratch that. The original timeline says that national governments fought each other in space:

The Jovian Moons Campaign escalated tensions, as Earth's national governments-many of which sponsored colonies within the system-began fighting proxy wars off-planet. As these proxy wars continued, tensions on Earth mounted, leading to a number of armed conflicts on Earth itself.