Nato cannot be “naive” about China’s military development, as the Indo-Pacific and European theatres are becoming “more intertwined”, evident in Beijing’s support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Nato’s secretary general has said.
During a pre-summit press conference on Monday, a day before the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, this week, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte responded to questions about a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine firing a test missile into the Pacific.
Rutte said that Nato “cannot be naive” about China, noting that he had already discussed the issue via text with Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi.
China launched what it called a “strategic missile” on Monday carrying a dummy warhead from its nuclear-powered submarine towards the Pacific, in a first known submarine-based missile test since 1982.
“This is why we have this close cooperation, because these theatres are getting more intertwined, connected,” Rutte explained.
“What happens in the Indo-Pacific is relevant to what is happening in the transatlantic.
“And we see it also with the war with Ukraine, where China, North Korea and Iran are key enablers of Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. So this again is evidence that we cannot be naive, and I can assure you that we are on it.”
While Beijing maintains it is neutral on the war in Ukraine, it has been accused of supporting Russia with dual-use technology and equipment such as microelectronics, advanced machine tools, drone components and raw materials.
The two countries also regularly carry out joint military exercises. On June 27, more than 10 Chinese and Russian warplanes staged a joint strategic air patrol over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the Western Pacific.
The manoeuvres prompted both South Korea and Japan to scramble their fighter jets.
According to a report by Reuters last week, a delegation from the Russian military travelled to China to participate in training exercises at the People’s Liberation Army facilities focusing on radiological, chemical and biological warfare in Beijing in November.
The report cited a classified Russian document that directly referred to an internal decree issued by Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov.
Meanwhile, Rutte maintained that Nato’s member states should “ensure Ukraine gets what it needs” by increasing their defence spending so they can better balance defence-sharing burdens and responsibility for Ukraine’s security.
He was also not concerned about the absence at this week’s Nato summit of the state leaders of the alliance’s Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) partner countries – Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea – citing “very close cooperation” with the four countries.
Similar to last year’s Nato summit in The Hague, most leaders of the IP4 countries have decided to skip this year’s meeting, with only South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expected to attend in Ankara.
This year’s Nato summit is likely to be a venue for presenting plans to reach the five per cent GDP defence spending goal set at last year’s meeting in The Hague.
According to Rutte, the member states and Canada are already investing around four per cent of their GDP in defence after only a year into a 10-year project that includes nearly 20 per cent more in “core defence capabilities”.
Rutte said that after years of underinvestment, Nato is producing “real capabilities” with European allies and Canada that will put it on a trajectory to “equal” Washington’s defence spending.
“Not just that, they [Nato allies] are taking on more leadership within Nato’s command-and-control structure and stepping up on conventional defence efforts, including among the entire Eastern flank, in the Baltic region and the Arctic, and spearheading support for Ukraine,” said Rutte.
“All of this is evidence of a real shift in mindset, a stronger Europe and a stronger Nato.”
The increased defence spending goal was put forward after US President Donald Trump last year pressured the European allies to spend more on their own defence.
Trump, a long-time Nato critic, has described the organisation as a “paper tiger” in recent months, most notably in March after member states refused to support Washington’s war efforts in the Middle East or help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Responding to the question whether US pressure on European allies to take more responsibility for their own defence would strengthen or weaken the alliance, Rutte said that what Washington has done is to assess again what they can provide Nato in case of a two-theatre conflict, such as a simultaneous war in the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic.
He said that such an assessment would make the alliance “stronger” and not constitute a “massive downturn”, describing the ongoing changes to Nato as “transformational” and saying that they will make it more sustainable. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
