The NATO summit Vilnius, which also included the leaders of Ukraine, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Australia – partner countries but not members of the Atlantic Alliance – sent a clear message to the China. As stated in the final declaration at the end of the first of the two working days, Beijing is considered a threat to global and regional security and to the current rules-based international order. For its part, the People’s Republic of China has promised a “firm response” to a possible expansion of NATO on the Asian continent.
The China dossier
Paragraph number six of the above press release refers precisely to China. “The declared ambitions and the coercive policy of the People’s Republic of China call our interests, our security and our values into question,” emphasized the NATO members and declared that they were open to one constructive engagement Beijing. The summit also noted that the Dragon is using a variety of political, economic, and military tools to increase its global influence “while remaining in the dark about its strategy, intentions, and military build-up.”
Another passage could not be missing Sino-Russian partnership. For NATO, China and Russia are engaged in a “deep strategic partnership” aimed at “weakening the rules-based international order.”
Beijing has evidently reacted to the position of the Atlantic Alliance. “Sino-Russian relations are based on the principles of non-alignmentNon-confrontation and no position towards third parties,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. “We call on NATO to stop baseless allegations and provocative statements against China,” he added, adding to the outdated concept of the Cold War mentality of abandoning the wrong approach of seeking absolute security and wreaking havoc in Europe and doing the same in the EU attemptAsia Pacific“.
Global security
“China is not our opponent and we must continue our efforts. But Beijing’s increasing assertiveness is having an impact on ours.” Security. China is increasingly challenging the rules-based world order, refusing to condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, threatening Taiwan and making significant military developments. China’s nuclear modernization is unprecedented in speed and scale. And it is being conducted without transparency,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“The allies agree to continue working together to guard against Chinese coercive behavior and tomorrow we will meet the leaders of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea and the EU. Because we are stronger and safer when we stand together,” he said. He then added, noting how important it is for NATO to connect that regional security in addition global.
“Security is not regional, it is global and we must stand together,” Stoltenberg continued, denouncing that China will do so in 2025 1,500 nuclear warheads mounted on missiles capable of reaching the United States and Europe. “NATO is a regional alliance, but we face global challenges. What is happening in Europe has consequences for the Indo-Pacific region and what is happening in the Indo-Pacific region has consequences for North America and Europe,” he concluded, reiterating the need for “even closer cooperation”. Coordination with our Indo-Pacific partners”. That’s why they were created partnerships with the countries of the region on maritime security, new technologies, cyber, climate change and resilience.