NATO Secretary General criticized China’s actions such as bullying neighbors and hindering freedom of navigation in the East Sea. According to him, China’s rise creates both opportunities and challenges.
Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue in India on April 13, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that India plays an important role in the Indo-Pacific region.
Mr. Stoltenberg also said that the rise of China is a decisive global issue. According to him, the rise of China brings economic, trade and investment opportunities to many countries, including NATO members.
On the other hand, he stressed: “We must be alert to the challenges created by the rise of China.” He noted that China is seeking to enhance its military capabilities to match its economic strength, with a tripling of military spending over the past decade. China is currently the country with the second largest defense budget in the world and continues to invest heavily in military reform.
“We have seen increasingly aggressive actions by China to challenge the rules-based international order. They openly threaten Taiwan, threaten their neighbors in the region, and impede freedom of navigation in the South China Sea… China is getting closer to us, requiring our attention and collective action,” the NATO chief said. NATO is a military alliance of 30 European and North American member states.
Mr. Stoltenberg’s comments came amid China’s increasingly worrying actions in the South China Sea and surrounding waters. Recently, China has sent hundreds of fishing vessels to Ba Dau Reef within the territorial waters of Sinh Ton Dong Group in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago. China has also conducted military exercises in the South China Sea and repeatedly sent fighter jets close to Taiwan.
Minh Phuong
According to Business Standard
