China teaming up with Russia and North Korea is fuelling concern: Japanese report
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(From left) Russia's President Vladimir Putin, China's President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a military parade in Beijing in September.
PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO - 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 Nov 20 by a think-tank of Japan’s Defence 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 North-east Asia, the National Institute for Defence Studies said in its annual report.
The report came as Japan’s tensions with China have intensified 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.
On Sept 3 in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared together
“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 Mr Masayuki Masuda, the lead author of the report.
He said China views its national security as under threat by matters such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. While Beijing and Moscow are aligned against Washington, China has apparently kept its distance from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he added.
For the report, three researchers at the institute, including Mr Masuda, each analysed the foreign policies and defence 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 towards North Korean denuclearisation”.
The final chapter of the report warned that China-Russia defence cooperation will enhance Beijing’s operational capabilities, while the Moscow-Pyongyang rapprochement will further reinforce North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes. KYODO NEWS
