A Russian screening of an 81-year-old film in Taipei has raised concerns in Taiwan, with the government suspecting that Russia is helping China promote a narrative about an increasing military threat from Japan. The event was a closed-door screening of a Soviet-era documentary titled Smashing Militarist Japan, hosted for about 20 guests in a small room within a downtown Taipei office building. While the audience was small, the screening alarmed Taiwanese officials, who believe Russia is trying to create tension in Taipei's relations with Japan and other Western allies. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had previously suggested that a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan might prompt a Japanese military response, which Beijing has warned could lead to a diplomatic crisis. This has heightened tensions between Tokyo and Beijing, with China accusing Japan of attempting to revive its militaristic past. Taiwanese officials claim that the Russian embassy in Taipei, which operates unofficially, is part of a broader effort to support China’s narrative of "new militarism" against Japan, a key ally of Taiwan. The film shown was a 1945 black-and-white documentary titled The Defeat of Militarist Japan, which Russia translated into Chinese and shared on Facebook. The film features footage of Soviet attacks on Japanese-occupied Manchuria and the Kuril Islands, along with a voiceover that criticizes Japan’s wartime actions. While the film is historically significant, its screening in Taiwan has sparked concerns about foreign influence, especially since Taiwan has laws like the 2019 Anti-Infiltration Act designed to prevent covert political interference from China. Taiwan's National Security Council said it is closely monitoring the cooperation between China and Russia, particularly in areas like "cognitive warfare," where misinformation or historical revisionism is used to influence public opinion. The Russian office in Taipei, which has been relatively low-profile since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, stated in a Facebook post that the Soviet Union and China made significant contributions to defeating Japanese militarism during World War II. However, Taiwan's foreign ministry emphasized that while it respects normal exchanges, such events should respect historical facts and democratic values. The Russian office declined to comment further, and the event was not disrupted by authorities.