Campbell said that Pyongyang has provided “an enormous number” of artillery shells to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine and that in exchange, North Korea may get support for its long-range, nuclear missile development plans.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made headlines with his trip last week to Pyongyang, a move that widens the scope of players involved in the war that he launched against Ukraine in February 2022.

Biden administration officials including Campbell, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan have accused Beijing of supporting Russia’s war effort with shipments of electronics and other materials used in weapons systems, but add that the country has stopped short of delivering “lethal aid”.

In his remarks at the event, Campbell said that pressure on China from Nato allies and defence treaty partners in the Indo-Pacific – Japan, South Korea and the Philippines – as well as Australia and New Zealand had already been increasing over concerns about how much a Russian victory over Ukraine would upset global stability.

“The steps that Russia and North Korea are taking are causing countries in the region to rethink all of their military and other steps. And so what we’ve seen is substantial increases in military spending, different focus in South Korea and Japan, elsewhere, through across the Indo-Pacific more generally,” he said.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. Photo: Reuters

“The United States is quite focused on underscoring the strength of our extended deterrence commitments to the countries of Northeast Asia, Japan and South Korea in particular,” he added.

Asked how close the US and the Philippines are to invoking their mutual defence treaty, Campbell said that he would not speculate on that in public.

“I will say we have reaffirmed [the treaty’s] significance and its relevance to these situations, continually and at the highest level – the president, secretary of defence, secretary of state – so we’ve sent a clear and unambiguous message of our determination to stand by our Philippine friends,” he added.

Questions about that treaty have swelled since Manila has condemned Beijing for the “dangerous manoeuvres” of Chinese ships – “including ramming and towing” – to disrupt a resupply mission to a vessel grounded by Manila on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

In May, Campbell visited Nato headquarters in Brussels, where he briefed his European counterparts on Chinese support for Russia.

Days later, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg – speaking alongside Campbell in Washington – said that China’s support for Russia’s efforts in Ukraine had made it necessary for Nato to forge global partnerships, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, and significantly ramp up defence spending.

Stoltenberg said that Beijing’s position had intensified the largest armed conflict in Europe since the end of World War II, requiring the allies to act and “impose a cost”.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Nato has enhanced its cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries, inviting the leaders of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea to participate in that year’s Nato summit in Madrid, Spain.

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