China yesterday accused NATO of seeking security at the expense of others and told the alliance not to bring the same “chaos” to Asia.
The statement by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) came a day after NATO labeled China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“NATO hyping up China’s responsibility on the Ukraine issue is unreasonable and has sinister motives,” Lin said at a daily briefing.
Photo: AFP
He said that China has a fair and objective stance on the Ukraine issue.
China has broken with the US and its European allies over the war in Ukraine, refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion. Its trade with Russia has grown since the invasion, at least partially offsetting the effect of Western sanctions.
NATO, in a communique issued at a summit in Washington, said that China has become a enabler of the war through its “no-limits partnership” with Russia and its large-scale support for Russia’s defense industrial base.
Lin said that China’s trade with Russia is legitimate and reasonable, and based on WTO rules.
He said that NATO’s “so-called security” comes at the cost of the security of other countries.
China has backed Russia’s contention that NATO expansion posed a threat to Russia.
China has expressed concern about NATO’s budding relationships with countries in the region.
Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea sent their leaders or deputies to the NATO summit this week.
“China urges NATO to ... stop interfering in China’s internal politics and smearing China’s image, and not create chaos in the Asia-Pacific after creating turmoil in Europe,” Lin said.
Chinese troops are in Belarus this week for joint drills near the border with Poland, a NATO member.
The exercises are the first-ever with Belarus, an ally of Russia.
Lin described the joint training as a normal military exchange and cooperation that is not directed at any particular country.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
RSS