Opinion | Russia-North Korea pact dooms US hopes of Indo-Pacific dominance

As the United States fortifies its alliances with the Quad and Aukus to curb China’s ambitions in the South China Sea, Russia’s military treaty with North Korea has complicated Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy.

This agreement, which could be perceived as a means for Russia to bolster its defence procurement from North Korea for its invasion of Ukraine, has in fact positioned Russia as a formidable player in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

Despite the absence of a formal tripartite agreement between China, North Korea and Russia, Pyongyang’s individual defence pacts with Beijing and Moscow could indicate future defence coordination and cooperation.

Former defence minister Sergei Shoigu proposed during a visit to Pyongyang that they hold joint naval drills with China. This desire is endowed in the converging interests to convey to the US and its allies that they can also achieve the same level of cooperation as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) in the Indo-Pacific region and cause major disruption.

Last year, China and Russia held joint drills called Northern/Interaction-2023, in which the two countries actively patrolled and conducted exercises in the South and the East China Seas and the Aleutian Islands near Alaska. In January, Russia conducted anti-submarine drills in the South China Sea, during which it detected and neutralised a mock enemy submarine.