A top US military official has referred to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea as a “new axis of adversaries”.
This label is reminiscent of the term used by former President George W. Bush, who claimed in 2002, in the lead-up to the US invasion of Iraq, that Iraq, Iran, and North Korea constituted an “axis of evil”.
General Christopher G. Cavoli, commander of US European Command, said this in a written statement prepared for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 11.
“The PRC, Iran, and DPRK are sustaining Russia’s economy and enabling it to continue its aggression in Ukraine”, the US general claimed, using acronyms for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
“This new axis of adversaries will create strategic dilemmas within an increasingly challenging international security environment”, he added.
In his statement, Cavoli argued that the US faces threats not seen since the first cold war.
He referred to Russia as a “threat” and China as a “malign influence”.
The general wrote that the “United States faces a combination of challenges and threats in the Euro-Atlantic area that we have not seen in more than thirty years”.
“Diplomatically, Russia has used the past two years to attempt to alter the global security architecture by creating relationships that challenge the existing order”, the US general said.
“Russia, the PRC, Iran, and DPRK are forming interlocking strategic partnerships across the world’s largest landmass”, he warned.
“This block [sic] of adversaries is more cohesive and dangerous than any threat the United States has faced in decades”, the general added.
In the hearing, Republican Senator Eric Schmitt said China is “our chief adversary”.
In a separate House Armed Services Committee hearing the day before, April 10, Cavoli also testified. Republican Congressman Scott DesJarlais said in response, “One message that does seem to sell back home is, when you talk about the, uh, evolving alliance between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, [it] is almost an axis similar to World War II, uh, Germany, and Italy, and Japan. So that seems to get people’s attention”.
