Taiwanese security officials say Moscow and Beijing have agreed to pool their propaganda resources across the first island chain, a worrying sign ahead of Taiwan's local elections.

• Russia and China have reached a new understanding to amplify each other's messaging in the region, on top of their existing military cooperation.
• Each side will use its own local networks, media, and organizations to push the other's themes to a wider audience.
• Japan is the current test case: Russian outlets have echoed Beijing's attacks on Prime Minister Takaichi's government, including claims that Japan is turning militarist.
• Taiwan's concern is that where China cannot act directly on the island, it may work through Russia or Russian-backed proxies instead.
• The agreement follows Xi Jinping's meeting with Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan.

Outlook: Taiwan's security services and allied intelligence partners will be watching for Russian-linked activity around the year-end local elections.