The Ties That Bind China, Russia and Iran (Asia Times)

I never expected to one day miss Henry Kissinger. Though a misguided architect of empire, Kissinger at least knew how to protect his creation. While the current administration squanders lives and wealth in Iraq and fixates on sideshows like North Korea and Venezuela, consider the growing axis of power discussed in this article from The Asia Times of June 4, 2005 (posted at Japan Focus on June 6).
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By Jephraim P. Gundzik

The military implementation of the George W Bush administration's unilateralist foreign policy is creating monumental changes in the world's geostrategic alliances. The most significant of these changes is the formation of a new triangle comprised of China, Iran and Russia.

Growing ties between Moscow and Beijing in the past 18 months is an important geopolitical event that has gone practically unnoticed. China's premier, Wen Jiabao, visited Russia in September 2004. In October 2004, President Vladimir Putin visited China. During the October meeting, both China and Russia declared that Sino-Russian relations had reached "unparalleled heights". In addition to settling long-standing border issues, Moscow and Beijing agreed to hold joint military exercises in 2005. This marks the first large-scale military exercises between Russia and China since 1958.

The rest of the story: <http://japanfocus.org/article.asp?id=303>