China team-up with Russia, N. Korea fueling concern–Japanese report
China, Russia, and North Korea have formed a de facto alliance and their rivalry with the US-led security framework involving Tokyo and Seoul may grow, a report released on Thursday by a think tank of Japan’s Defense Ministry said.
China is bolstering military ties with Russia through joint exercises while not preventing North Korea’s dispatch of troops to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine, raising security concerns in Northeast Asia, the National Institute for Defense Studies said in its annual report.
The report came as Japan’s tensions with China have been intensifying since comments by pro-Taiwan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Tokyo’s potential involvement in a contingency related to Communist-led Beijing and the self-ruled, democratic island.
80th anniversary
On Sept. 3 in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared together as China staged a massive military parade marking the 80th anniversary of its victory in World War II.
“By conducting joint military exercises and patrols with Russia, China has sent signals to other parts of the world while examining its own military and operational capabilities,” said Masayuki Masuda, the lead author of the report.
He said China views its national security as being threatened by issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. While Beijing and Moscow are aligned against the United States, China has apparently kept some distance from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he added.
Increased uncertainty
For the report, three researchers at the institute, including Masuda, each analyzed the foreign policies and defense strategies of China, Russia, and North Korea.
Russia has used tactics aimed at instilling fear and making Western countries more cautious, the report said, citing the deployment of its nuclear weapons in Belarus and the dispatch of North Korean troops in the ongoing war.
As for Pyongyang, the report said its partnership with Russia, as demonstrated in the war in Ukraine, “has made things increasingly difficult for China’s efforts toward North Korean denuclearization.”
The final chapter of the report warned that China-Russia defense cooperation will enhance Beijing’s operational capabilities, while the Moscow-Pyongyang rapprochement will further reinforce North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
“Those partnerships have increased uncertainty over the security environment of the Indo-Pacific,” it said.
