On July 9, China expressed strong criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit. This reaction comes in response to NATO’s cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries such as South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded to questions regarding China’s position in terms of NATO during a press conference on the 9th.
The question was, “It’s reported that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a pre-summit press conference that NATO’s global partnerships will be one of the topics for the Summit. He said that ‘as we see in Ukraine, our security is not regional, it is global’ and that it is important to ‘work closely with our friends in the Indo-Pacific.’ NATO will discuss cooperation on Ukraine and other topics with Australia, the ROK, Japan, and New Zealand to resist Russia, Iran, the DPRK, and China. What’s China’s comment?”
Lin noted, “The security that NATO speaks of is a sacrifice at the expense of other countries’ security. What NATO does brings an extremely high-security risk to the world and the region.” He emphasized, “China firmly opposes NATO’s attack on China and the shifting of responsibility. We oppose NATO using China as an excuse to advance into the Asia-Pacific region and accelerate territorial dispute.”
He added that NATO has been creating false perceptions of China internationally and urged them to stop creating “imaginary enemies.” He also mentioned how these alliances are “exclusive small groups under the name of ‘collective defense,'”alluding that NATO is the one initiating international conflict.
Another journalist asked China’s position on the military pact with North Korea as China simply called it “cooperation between the two sovereign countries of North Korea and Russia.” Lin did not immediately respond, but insisted, “We have clearly stated our position on the bilateral cooperation between the two sovereign countries (North Korea and Russia). I believe we have also spoken very clearly on the issue of NATO.”
Previously, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized NATO and noted, “NATO is a product of the Cold War. It is the world’s largest military alliance. On one hand, it claims to be a regional and defensive organization, but on the other hand, it constantly crosses boundaries and expands its authority. It promotes confrontation beyond its defense zone.” The Ministry added, “It should not attempt to disrupt the Asia-Pacific region after disrupting Europe.” It seems clear that China strongly opposes NATO’s cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region.
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