cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/10762694

Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific targets could be next.

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China’s reported sale of shoulder-launched missile systems to Iran should be concerning not just to the United States but also to Australia and other major powers in the Indo-Pacific. It demonstrates a deeper strategic partnership between Beijing and Tehran – one with destabilizing consequences for the Middle East – and shows a certain recklessness in Chinese behavior.

But China is not alone in this endeavor. Russia is an active party aiding Iran in a variety of ways, even though it has its hands full with its ill-advised invasion of Ukraine. Sino-Russian assistance to Iran degrades the international security situation in the Middle East and worsens the Strait of Hormuz crisis. And North Korea is involved too, completing the authoritarian axis.

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To hide its role, China reportedly had a Hong Kong-based company, Zhongqing Baoshang International Investment, act as a middle agent facilitating the deal with Iran.

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There are also indications that the newer Russian drones come with Chinese radio modems, cameras … In addition, and drawing from its own drone warfare experience in Ukraine, Russia was also reportedly providing Iran with ‘tactical guidance on how many drones should be used in operations and what altitudes they should strike from.’

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North Korea is reportedly gearing up to send around 30,000 troops to Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on July 30 that Russia’s Voronezh region was getting ready to receive the North Korean troops. He added that North Korea was also likely sending “additional missile launchers” to further Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.

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[Russia, China, North Korea] are already working together in Ukraine. Now they are in Iran, again trying to undermine the US and its partners. Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific targets could be next.

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