11 May 2024

The Danger of Lumping China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran Together | Opinion

Mohammed Soliman

There is a growing consensus that China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are aligning into a modern Tripartite Pact, prompting calls for the United States to formulate a grand strategy aimed at thwarting this perceived Eurasian coalition.

This emerging narrative about a "desperate alignment" between Beijing, Moscow, Pyongyang, and Teheran is bolstered by recent examples of cooperation. Iranian military leaders want to portray the recent maritime exercise in the northern Indian Ocean, dubbed the "Maritime Security Belt" by China, Russia, and Iran as a budding alignment. Meanwhile, North Korea sent a high-level economic delegation to Iran, and has made efforts to strengthen ties with countries opposing the U.S. Beijing is accused of providing Moscow with an economic and technological lifeline to help it evade U.S. sanctions, and it—along with North Korea and Iran—is also supplying weapons to Russia.

While there may be ideological and strategic bases for the close ties between Beijing, Moscow, Pyongyang, and Tehran—such as opposing the U.S.-led order and ejecting Washington from their perceived spheres of influence—there is less evidence that these countries can build a cohesive alternative global order or are even capable of carrying out complex coordinated military operations, at least for now.

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