China has sharply criticized NATO. Beijing Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said today that NATO was “manufacturing a Chinese threat” following NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s warnings about a Chinese threat to Taiwan.
The spokeswoman accused NATO of wanting to strengthen its ties with Asia-Pacific countries and expand its sphere of influence beyond its traditional zone of defense.
The spokeswoman was responding to Stoltenberg’s visit to South Korea and Japan earlier in the week. The Asia-Pacific region “is not the battleground for geopolitical competition” and “does not accept a Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation,” Mao Ning said.
Stoltenberg pointed out the threat from China
With his visit to Seoul and Tokyo, Stoltenberg wanted to advance cooperation on security policy with Asian partner countries and expressly pointed to a threat from China.
“China is significantly expanding its armed forces, including nuclear weapons, harassing its neighbors and threatening Taiwan,” Stoltenberg said after a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. Beijing is closely monitoring the West’s handling of Russia’s war on Ukraine and is drawing “lessons that could influence its future decisions,” he said. “What’s happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow.”