Mark Montgomery warns of growing strategic alignment between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea
Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, a co-author of a new Foundation for Defense of Democracies report, warned that the United States faces a growing strategic alignment between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The report, titled "Axis of Aggressors," identifies these four authoritarian governments as a strategically aligned bloc that coordinates military support, sanctioned energy trade, and technology transfers to stretch U.S. defenses. Montgomery noted that while the user-defined grouping is not a formal alliance like NATO, its practical effects are visible in active conflicts. For instance, China provides the economic backstop for Russia's economy during its war in Ukraine, while North Korea supplies millions of artillery rounds and drones from Iran. Experts cited in the report suggest that the primary danger is the "simultaneity problem," where the user-s-defined adversaries confront the United States with multiple crises at once. The report recommends that the United States strengthen coordination with allies, expand defense production, and enforce sanctions more aggressively to counter this combined threat.