Three rivals of the U.S., Russia, China, and Iran have partnered to perform military drills in the Middle East, China’s Defense Ministry recently announced.
The three U.S. adversaries are preparing to team their offensives n a series of exercises dubbed “Security Bond-2023.”
The initiative will run through March 19, demonstrating their naval capacity in a coordinated effort against their enemies.
China’s Defense Ministry said the exercises would “help deepen practical cooperation between the participating countries’ navies … and inject positive energy into regional peace and stability,” The Guardian reported.
However, the White House has not expressed any concerns that Russia, China and Iran might using the military drills to escalate conflicts with the United States.
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. would continue monitoring the situation.
“We’re going to watch it, we’ll monitor it, obviously, to make sure that there’s no threat resulting from this training exercise to our national security interests or those of our allies and partners in the region,” Kirby sai, ABC reported.
“But nations train. We do it all the time. We’ll watch it as best we can,” he added.
Tensions have been rising between the West recently due to provocative postures taken over Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and human rights abuses.
The U.S. continues to sanction Iran for its Government’s use of live ammunition on peaceful protests.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to face unprecedented sanctions and economic pressure from the U.S.
The three countries stages similar military exercises in 2019 and 2022, as China has sought to strengthen its ties to nations against the U.S and expand its influence throughout the Middle East
On Friday, China brokered a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to end years of hostility and enter into new diplomatic relations.
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