INDO-PACIFIC - The head of U.S. Info-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) stated on Monday that he is "very concerned" about the increase in joint military operations by Russia, China, and North Korea in the region after North Korea carried out another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, said that Russian and Chinese relations are one of the "essential guarantees" of stability in the world, adding that Russia sees "Western attempts" to shift NATO's activities "toward Asia" which it says goes against the NATO alliance's "statutory goals".
“I view it [Russian and Chinese cooperation] as far beyond the marriage of convenience at this point in time," Admiral John C. Aquilino stated, adding, "If you tied DPRK (North Korea) into that, the Russia-DPRK cooperation, and the fact that the only partner of the DPRK prior to that was (China), that’s just a bad neighborhood and bad group to be in".
