In the contest of global narratives, China has sought to cast itself as a peaceful nation opposed to dividing the world into rival camps.
In contrast, it has accused the United States of building alliances that will drive the world toward a new Cold War.
Yet Russia and North Korea’s mutual defense treaty, which calls for the two countries to provide immediate military assistance to each other in the event of war, is exactly the kind of bloc-building that China has charged the United States with.
China’s closest strategic partner and its only treaty ally — Russia and North Korea — are now the ones heightening the risk of Cold War-style confrontation in northeast Asia.
The pact also creates more headaches for Beijing by appearing to deepen the semblance of a trilateral axis between China, Russia and North Korea, which China has sought to avoid.
Persons:
—, ”, Yun Sun
Organizations:
“, Stimson
Locations:
China, United States, Russia, North, — Russia, North Korea, Asia, Beijing, “ Beijing, Washington