The US Pacific Command’s top military officer has warned of a new military alliance between China, North Korea, and Russia and called it a bad threat to regional and international security. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command commander Admiral Samuel Paparo told the Senate Armed Services Committee that China and North Korea are providing sweeping support to Russia’s war against Ukraine and receiving sophisticated military technologies in exchange.
Paparo indicated that China has been supplying 70% of Russia’s machine tools and 90% of the antique computer chips Russia needs in order to rebuild its own military strength. China, in return, possibly is being given access to Russian advanced technologies, including submarine systems that would permit the Chinese navy to travel more quietly.
He called this partnership a “transactional symbiosis,” where both countries support each other’s weaknesses for their own gain.
Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, made a similar statement and touched on the importance of having strong U.S. forces in South Korea and the broader Indo-Pacific. There are 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.
Paparo also informed that North Korea has exported thousands of short-range missiles and artillery rounds to Russia and is likely receiving air defenses in exchange. North Korea’s armed forces, equipped with Russian weaponry, now have over 1.3 million soldiers and are still improving on advanced systems, including nuclear and hypersonic ones.
In addition, North Korea has reportedly deployed troops to fight on the side of Russian forces in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia is also recruiting Chinese citizens for the conflict and that over 150 were already there. China called the report “irresponsible.”
Growing anxiety among U.S. officials is being voiced about this trilateral military alliance and its implications for global stability.
