Letters | Russia-North Korea pact strengthens China’s position in geomilitary chess

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In my letter, “Geopolitics makes landscape complex in the West Pacific” (June 21), I surmised that in the event of a war over Taiwan, Beijing, which has no formal military ally, may have to fight against the US, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia, yet it is questionable whether Japan and South Korea would be willing and able to wholeheartedly support the US in a war with China, as the pair perpetually cast a wary eye over their nuclear-armed neighbours, North Korea and Russia. This observation has now been strengthened by the recent Russia-North Korea military alliance.

The US may have additional distractions. The wars in Gaza and Ukraine may end with precarious truces. The US cannot afford to be totally unprepared for resumption of conflict in those parts of the world. Involving itself, one way or another, simultaneously in conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, South China Sea, Taiwan and northeast Asia would certainly be extremely unappetising to the US.