NATO’s secretary general warned that a Russian victory in Ukraine would set a precedent for China to invade Taiwan. This comes against the background of US claims that Beijing supports Putin’s war, writes BGNES.
Today, Jens Stoltenberg told Swedish publication Expressen that China could be encouraged to resort to seizing Taiwan by force if Putin’s invasion succeeds, saying “what is happening in Europe today could happen in Asia tomorrow”.
“The outcome of the war in Ukraine affects the conclusions that will be made in Beijing. This includes Taiwan,” he said. “If Putin gets what he wants in Ukraine by violating international law and using military force, it will send a message to other authoritarian leaders – including in Beijing – that they can get what they want by using military force.”
The warning came as Stoltenberg admitted that the devastated Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was likely to fall into Russian hands in the coming days after months of fierce fighting.
China’s authoritarian President Xi Jinping has made it clear that he considers the island of Taiwan part of China under the “One China” doctrine. Taiwan’s democratically elected president, Tsai Ing-wen, maintains that the island is a self-governing state whose people overwhelmingly reject unification with mainland China.
Xi has so far insisted he wants to pursue a “peaceful reunification process” but has said China reserves the right to use force, while Beijing’s navy and air force regularly conduct threatening drills and missile launches in the Taiwan Strait.
Although the circumstances surrounding a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan can be compared to a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the two conflicts would actually be very different. This is because of the close economic and trade ties that Taipei and Beijing share with many Western countries, and America’s deep military ties to Taiwan.
Stoltenberg’s comments only add to strained relations between China and the West, which were further complicated on Tuesday when Beijing accused Washington of fomenting “conflict and confrontation”, the Daily Mail reported.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said earlier this week that China was considering plans to provide Russia with weapons and “lethal assistance” in its war with Ukraine. In an immediate response, Beijing’s new foreign minister, Qing Gang, told a news conference on Tuesday that there would be “catastrophic consequences” if the United States continued on its current course.
“If the United States does not apply the brakes but continues to move down the wrong path, no guardrails can prevent the derailment, and there will certainly be conflict and confrontation,” Qin told reporters.
The foreign minister called the American criticism of China “a reckless game in which the basic interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity are at stake.” He added that it was a “zero-score game of life and death”.
