U.S. alarmed by China and Russia's military activity in Indo-Pacific

Aquilino called on China to stop escalating maritime confrontations with neighbors and stated that China's growing military activity in coordination with Russia raises serious concerns during Moscow's war in Ukraine.

"I view it as far beyond the marriage of convenience at this point in time” he said. “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," he said.

Cooperation between North Korea, Russia, and China

North Korea insists on expanding cooperation with Russia and China. There are concerns in the global community that North Korea has supplied missiles and other munitions to Russia to support its war in Ukraine in exchange for Russian missile technology.

Last week, Chinese and Russian bombers conducted a joint flight over the East China Sea in the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, prompting Japanese fighter jets to scramble, according to a statement from the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

China-Russia relations

China has grown closer to supporting ties with Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, Beijing has refused to join the sanctions imposed by the United States against the Kremlin.

Beijing and Moscow share a mutual interest in challenging U.S. dominance in the global order, as their relations with democratic countries become increasingly strained.

Washington has repeatedly warned China against providing assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine or aiding in sanctions evasion. Earlier in the summer, U.S. intelligence claimed that China was supplying technology and equipment to Russia