North Korea parroted a Chinese talking point over the holiday weekend, accusing the United States of trying to create an “Asian NATO.” This follows a newly reached military cooperation agreement between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.

The idea of a NATO-esque military alliance in East Asia worries China and its North Korean ally for a simple reason: Such a pact would severely hamstring China’s ability to invade Taiwan and wage war across its near periphery.