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Recent encirclement exercises conducted by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) around Taiwan, coupled with the deepening strategic cooperation among North Korea, the PRC, and Russia, are intensifying concerns regarding the possibility of simultaneous crises scenario in East Asia. In particular, while both a crisis on the Korean Peninsula and a Taiwan contingency share a common trait that they are key flashpoints directly linked to United States (U.S.)？PRC strategic competition, Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang differ in how they perceive these crises and in how they approach alignment with one another. This article examines the PRC’s crisis-management logic through an analysis of the characteristics shown during its encirclement exercises around Taiwan. Building upon this assessment, the article analyzes the conditions under which North Korea？PRC？Russia alignment may function, as well as its scope and intensity, in both a Taiwan contingency and a Korean Peninsula contingency. In doing so, it seeks to shed light on the implications of these two crisis types for the regional security order and for the strategic posture of the Republic of Korea (ROK).
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