The US secretary of defense said Friday that allies are troubled by the growing alignment between Russia and China, including China's support for Russia's war on Ukraine.
Speaking at a news conference following NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels, Lloyd Austin expressed concern over China's "increasingly coercive" behavior in the Indo-Pacific, which he said has profound implications for the whole world.
"We're also troubled by the growing alignment between Russia and the People's Republic of China, including The PRC's support for Putin's indefensible war choice against Ukraine," he noted.
Austin said that this situation makes NATO's close cooperation with its Indo-Pacific partners "more vital than ever."
On Thursday, NATO Defense Ministerial meeting was the first when the alliance had Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand participating in the format.
On Ukraine's victory plan, which was presented by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this week, Austin noted that the US will do everything that it can to provide the security assistance to support the Zelenskyy as he tries to accomplish his objectives.
"Our focus is going to continue to be on doing everything that we can to support the victory plan," he added.
On the killing of Yahya Sinwar, the head of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas's political bureau, Austin said that his death "provides an extraordinary opportunity to achieve a lasting ceasefire to end this awful war and to rush humanitarian aid into Gaza."
Asked about Israeli remarks following Sinwar's death that operations will continue, the defense secretary reiterated that there are opportunities that they can work together to take advantage.
"We would hope that parties would take advantage of that, both in Gaza and in Lebanon."
Early Friday, Hamas confirmed the death of Sinwar in an Israeli attack in Gaza.
The Israeli army said Thursday that it had killed Sinwar in a military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Although the military did not specify the location of Sinwar's death, Israeli media reports suggested the operation took place in the southern city of Rafah.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas last October.
More than 42,400 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 99,000 injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
