NATO allies call China a “key enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine

WASHINGTON: In their sharpest rebuke of Beijing, NATO allies on Wednesday called China a “key enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine and expressed concern about China’s nuclear arsenal and space capabilities.

The sternly worded final communiqué adopted by the 32 NATO members at their summit in Washington makes it clear that China is becoming the military alliance’s focus. The European and North American members and their partners in the Indo-Pacific increasingly see common security concerns on the part of Russia and its Asian backers, especially China.

Beijing denies supporting Russia’s war effort and insists it is conducting normal trade with its northern neighbor.

In the communiqué, NATO member states stated that China had become a warmonger through its “borderless partnership” with Russia and its massive support for the Russian arms industry.

“This increases the threat Russia poses to its neighbors and to Euro-Atlantic security. We call on the People’s Republic of China, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council with a special responsibility to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, to cease all material and political support for the Russian war effort,” said the communiqué, which refers to China by the abbreviation of its official name, People’s Republic of China.

Beijing expressed its displeasure at NATO’s growing interest in Asia and called on the alliance to stay out of the Asia-Pacific region and not provoke confrontation.

“NATO should not use China as a justification for its integration into the Asia-Pacific region and try to disrupt regional dynamics,” Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Tuesday. “China is a force for world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order.”

Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea sent their heads of state or representatives to the NATO summit in Washington this week. They are partners, not members of the alliance.

Danny Russel, former undersecretary of state for Asia and now vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, called NATO’s new wording “an extraordinary step,” especially since it was coupled in the same communiqué with a warning that Beijing continued to pose “systemic challenges” to European interests and security.

“It is a sign of how badly Beijing’s attempt to bridge Russia and Western Europe has failed and how hollow its claim to neutrality rings,” Russel said. “China’s attempts to divide and rule have instead produced remarkable solidarity among the major nations of the Euro-Atlantic and Asia-Pacific regions.”

In Washington, where NATO leaders are gathering this week to mark the coalition’s 75th anniversary, President Joe Biden said the alliance must not fall behind Russia, which is ramping up weapons production with the help of China, North Korea and Iran. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, said in his opening speech that NATO would strengthen its partnerships in the Indo-Pacific.