Military axis of Russia, China and North Korea will test what the West stands for

Chinese president Xi Jinping with Russia’s Vladimir Putin at a parade in Moscow earlier this month marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second World War. Photograph: RIA Novosti via AP "Up Periscope". We are all familiar with these words from wartime movies. They signify that those who have been tensely awaiting events are about to reconnect through a narrow aperture with the wider world. In the fast-moving world of international politics, diplomacy and trade, sometimes there is urgent need to survey where we are, while standing back from the bewildering detail thrown at us by the rush…