NATO allies call China a ‘key enabler’ of Russia’s war in Ukraine – The Times Herald

By DIDI TANG

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and capabilities in space.

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 stresses that it does not provide direct military assistance to Russia, but maintains close trade relations with its northern neighbor throughout the conflict.

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.

“The People’s Republic of China cannot allow the largest war in Europe in recent history without negatively affecting its interests and reputation,” the document says.

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.”

Danny Russel, a former assistant secretary of state for Asia, called NATO’s new wording “an extraordinary step,” particularly because it came with a warning that Beijing continued to pose “systemic challenges” to European interests and security.

“It shows how badly Beijing’s attempt to bridge Russia and Western Europe has failed and how hollow its claim to neutrality rings,” said Russel, vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute. “China’s attempts to divide and rule have instead produced remarkable solidarity among the major nations of the Euro-Atlantic and Asia-Pacific regions.”

Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the statement was “extremely significant” because it signaled to China that Europe, like the United States, condemned its support for Russia.

“The US believes that Europe has influence in Beijing and that China will not pay attention to US condemnation but will pay attention to European condemnation, because just because Europe trades with China, China also trades with Europe,” said Bergmann.

In this year’s final declaration, NATO member states reiterated their concern that China poses “systemic challenges” to Euro-Atlantic security. This concern was first expressed in 2021.

The alliance said China is behind persistent, malign cyber and hybrid activities, including disinformation, and raised concerns about China’s space capabilities and activities. It also warned that China is rapidly expanding and diversifying its nuclear arsenal with more warheads and a greater number of sophisticated delivery systems.

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 its weapons production with the help of China, North Korea and Iran.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said China was supplying equipment, microelectronics and tools “that enable Russia to build missiles, bombs, planes and weapons with which it is attacking Ukraine.”

He said it was the first time that all NATO allies had expressed this so clearly in an agreed document.

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.

In the final declaration, NATO members reaffirmed the importance of the Indo-Pacific partners to the Alliance and said they would “strengthen dialogue to address cross-regional challenges”.

NATO and Indo-Pacific partners plan to launch four projects to support Ukraine, strengthen cooperation on cyber defense, combat disinformation and work on artificial intelligence. NATO members said these projects would “enhance our ability to work together on shared security interests.”