“Combat coordination” of Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang: a new Pacific triangle is being created
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In the new global “cold war” started by America, the formation of two main fronts – Western and Eastern – is coming to an end. On the Western Front, a dotted line of military bases stretched across Europe – from Finland to Turkey. The process will end with Sweden’s accession to NATO. Fighting is taking place in the Ukrainian sector. In various forms, not only the initiators of the conflict – the Americans, but also other members of the NATO bloc – participate in them.
The Eastern Front emerged only a few years ago, but a confrontation with China is already in full swing, in which America is involving more and more countries. Washington found the resources of the 7th Fleet with its aircraft carrier groups, nuclear submarines, and strategic aviation insufficient. An entire system of bases with tens of thousands of Marines in Japan and neighboring South Korea is not enough. There are few military treaties with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia – all this military machine, created during the Cold War against the Soviet Union, is being updated, rearmed and refocused primarily on China.
Based on the long-term goal of containing and ultimately blocking China, Washington is complementing the military-political infrastructure of the Indo-Pacific basin not only with new forces of its air force and navy, but also with new military-political agreements with countries in the region. The AUCUS block consisting of Australia, England, and the USA was put together in a fire order. It is planned to add New Zealand to it. Nuclear submarines and technologies for their construction are being transferred to Australia. The military-diplomatic structure of the Quad (India, Japan, the United States and Australia), which was initially abolished as unnecessary, was revived in 2017 and is drifting towards military cooperation on China’s trade routes in the Indian Ocean.
The United States is not content with involving the countries of the region in its Indo-Pacific games and is even pulling in its NATO allies. The participation of aviation and navies in operations near the PRC is becoming the norm. A symbol of the bloc’s expanding zone of responsibility to the East was the establishment of a permanent NATO office in Tokyo. Pulling the forces of the bloc to the other hemisphere will take some time and a lot of scarce resources. Therefore, it was decided to urgently create a new regional bloc consisting of the USA, Japan and South Korea. At a meeting of the leaders of the three countries at Camp David on August 18, agreements were reached that actually meant the creation of “Asia-NATO,” as the new strategic triangle has already been dubbed. This military-political structure is designed not only to bring together the potentials of participants in countering China, Russia and North Korea, but also to achieve their synergy.
Against this increasingly alarming background, Moscow and Beijing did not try on the role of “tolerate” and began a new stage of a comprehensive strategic partnership. It began at the March meeting in Moscow of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping – two sovereign and long-standing leaders of their states, two Supreme Commanders. The agreements of the eight-hour face-to-face talks and in an expanded format began to be implemented soon after the summit. The growing synchronization of actions in the international arena, increasingly large-scale joint exercises of strategic forces, and effective counteraction to economic sanctions allow us to call the new stage “combat coordination.”
The firm position of Moscow and Beijing is attracting the interest of a growing number of countries around the world, tired of Western hegemony and seeking protection and support in finding their own path of development. This explains the desire to join BRICS and the SCO, in which Russia and China play a key role. This can also explain the rather unexpected activation of North Korea in relations with Russia and China. Beginning with July visits to celebrations in Pyongyang by the Russian Minister of Defense and the Chinese Deputy Head of Parliament (NPC), the chain of events continued with the September meeting of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with Vladimir Putin. Confidential conversations took place at the Vostochny cosmodrome. The Korean Supreme Commander also inspected aircraft factories and naval bases. This scenario for the visit leaves no doubt: North Korea intends to henceforth coordinate its military efforts and political actions with the great neighboring states. Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia opens up prospects for “combat coordination” between Pyongyang and Moscow, as well as with Beijing. In the foreseeable future, a new military-political “triangle” may emerge.
From the point of view of political arithmetic, the DPRK is a small country, incomparable with China and Russia. Population: 27 million, 1400 million and 150 million respectively. GDP cannot be compared – there are no official indicators, but everything is clear. But from the point of view of higher political mathematics, North Korea is comparable to Russia and China. All three are nuclear powers. The armed forces of Korea – 1.2 million bayonets, China – 2 million, Russia – 1.35 million people. Koreans have long had no illusions about the West. There are no “elites” with accounts in Western banks and families in prestigious areas of London and New York. The army is well trained and motivated, in the words of one of our generals, it is a complete special forces. Pyongyang is not afraid of any sanctions: they are already in effect. He is not afraid of American threats of a nuclear attack: for them, the USA is a “paper tiger”, which they knocked out several teeth with the help of China and the USSR in the 50s-53s. The failed attack by three carrier groups under President Trump also strengthened the courage of the Korean leadership.
It is almost certain that the topic of creating a “triangle” will be seriously discussed at the upcoming October meeting between President Putin and President Xi Jinping in Beijing. At the same time, Moscow will begin to play the most active role in rapprochement with Pyongyang. Korea’s relations with Russia are not burdened by historical problems, like China’s, but are dominated by examples of interaction and mutual assistance. At the end of the 19th century, the Russian Empire hoped to strengthen its influence in the Kingdom of Korea, which was a vassal of the Manchu dynasty that ruled China – the Great Qing Empire. Russian advisers sat in Korean ministries, the Korean army received Russian weapons. The defeat of Chinese troops and navies in the war with Japan of 1894–1895 led to the loss of Qing control over Korea and Taiwan. Beijing rightly expected new clashes with Japan and in 1896 they signed a secret treaty of alliance with the Russian Empire in Moscow. Tokyo’s dissatisfaction with Russia’s actions to protect its obligations and interests in China and Korea led to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. Let us remember that in the sad song about the feat of the cruiser “Varyag”, the gunboat “Koreets”, which shared its fate, is mentioned…
After the defeat of Russia and the occupation of Korea, thousands of Koreans poured into the Russian Far East, fleeing repression and humiliation at the hands of the Japanese. After the establishment of Japanese control over Manchuria in the early 30s, the remnants of Chinese and Korean partisans crossed the border into the USSR, where centers for training intelligence officers and saboteurs were established, who participated in the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army in 1945. Red Army captain Yuri Kim, who later became known throughout the world as Kim Il Sung, was trained in one of these centers. During the Korean War (1950–1953), Korean, Chinese, and Soviet soldiers worked together to confront the Americans and their allies.
In the 90s, the Kremlin “perestroika” curtailed support for Moscow’s allies, including the DPRK. But this country, under conditions of isolation and blockade, not only survived, but also created its own nuclear missile potential. This is what allows Pyongyang to confidently speak not only with Washington, but also with Moscow and Beijing.
“Combat coordination” with the DPRK is facilitated by the close ties between Russians and Koreans in Russia itself. 135 thousand citizens of the Russian Federation of Korean origin have become an organic part of our nation. They speak Russian and have grown into Russian culture and economy. We all have reliable Korean friends among our acquaintances, we all love Korean cuisine…
I would like to believe that after the October meeting between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in Beijing, the process of “combat coordination” with Pyongyang will begin to take visible shape. Our countries can first help our neighbors solve the food problem, open markets for their goods, and expand the use of Korean labor. We can expect the involvement of Korean troops in Russian-Chinese military exercises and operations to patrol border air and sea spaces. The use of Soviet standards of military equipment by the armed forces of the three countries opens up prospects for the exchange of the latest achievements. The opening of representative offices of the Korean People’s Army and the People’s Liberation Army of China to the CSTO in Moscow would help improve trilateral coordination. North Korea could well aspire to the status of a dialogue partner with the SCO.
Strengthening the security and improving the economic situation of the DPRK by quickly establishing ties with neighboring Russia and China would reduce the level of unpredictability of Pyongyang, which finds itself in the position of a “cornered tiger, ready to pounce.” In any case, the creation of a Moscow-Beijing-Pyongyang “triangle” would have a sobering effect on Washington and its allies in the Pacific region, who had their teeth in their hands.
Newspaper headline:
Collision of Pacific “triangles”
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