Madrid: NATO has chosen China for the first time as one of its strategic priorities for the next decade, warning about its growing military ambitions, confrontational rhetoric towards Taiwan and other neighbors, and close ties with Russia. While discussions of Russia’s war against Ukraine dominated the NATO summit, China earned a spot on Wednesday among the Western coalition’s most pressing security concerns. “China is building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, threatening its neighbors, threatening Taiwan … a ten-year strategic concept,” said Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg after presenting NATO. Our adversary is not,” Stoltenberg said, “but we must be clear about the serious challenges it represents.”
The Strategic Document dictated its harshest language in Russia, but only the mention of China was significant; China was not discussed in the 2010 document. The official turn by NATO pits the world’s largest military alliance based on the United States Armed Forces against a country with the world’s second largest economy and rapidly growing military, both in numbers and top technology.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “One of the things that (China) is doing is trying to undermine the rules-based international order that we follow, that we believe in, that we have built.” have helped.” “And if China challenges it in some way or the other, we will stand up to it.” China has yet to condemn Russia’s four-month-long war against Ukraine and criticized sanctions against Moscow by NATO members.
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A year ago, Russia and China expanded a friendship pact, promising even more “strategic cooperation” in protecting their common interests. This was followed in November with an agreement to strengthen their military ties. A few weeks before Russia’s February invasion, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted a summit meeting of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, in which he promised a partnership that had “no boundaries.”
Western leaders are concerned that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine could prompt China to be more assertive on Taiwan. China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, which does not have the right of independent recognition as a state or representation on the world stage.
Speaking at an event in Madrid, which was not part of the NATO summit, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that unless China is investigated, “there is a real risk that they attract the wrong views that will result in Taiwan”. horrific miscalculation,” referring to the self-governing island that China claims as a province. Although interpreted to show that it was somewhat uneasy over the war in Ukraine, China voted in a UN resolution calling on Russia to halt its attack.
China has greatly expanded its diplomatic reach through foreign investment, especially in Central Asia and Africa. It is now trying to coincide with greater military power, especially in the South China Sea where it has built bases on disputed islands. The US Navy has pushed back by practicing in those waters.
Many people from Asian countries attended the gathering of world leaders inside and on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid. It was the first time that the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand were invited to a NATO summit. He participated in the NATO session on new global challenges after holding a meeting outside the summit. and United States President Joe Biden sat down with the leaders of Japan and South Korea.
After a “very successful” meeting with the other three Pacific countries, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on China to condemn Russia’s invasions.
Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that NATO members are creating tension and provoking conflict. By sending warships and aircraft to the Asian mainland and areas close to the South China Sea. Zhao said, NATO should “abandon the cold war mentality, zero-sum game and enemy-making practices, and not try to mess up Asia and the whole world after disrupting Europe.”
A surveillance plane controlled by NATO member Canada was recently intercepted by a Chinese fighter in international airspace, which Canadian officials said was reckless on the part of the Chinese pilot. Beijing claims it is neutral in the Ukraine war and has accused NATO and the United States of provoking Russia for military action.
“The facts have proved that sanctions are not the way out of the conflict, and the continued delivery of weapons will not help to realize peace,” Zhao said. NATO allies fiercely debated how to frame their approach to China. High-level Spanish and French diplomatic officials told The Associated Press that their delegations insisted on treating China as a “challenge” rather than a “challenge” like Russia.
But one thing was clear: ignoring China was no longer an option. “The challenges we all face are truly global,” Stoltenberg told Western allies. “The international balance of power is changing, and strategic competition is increasing.”