During the NATO Summit in Washington on July 10, member nations became irreversibly involved in countering communist China’s adventurism around the world by declaring and identifying Beijing as the enabler and sustainer of Russia.
China Is Identified as the Reason Russia Is Still Standing
NATO came out swinging at China and said further in the communiqué:
“We call on the PRC, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council with a particular responsibility to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, to cease all material and political support to Russia’s war effort. This includes the transfer of dual-use materials, such as weapons components, equipment, and raw materials that serve as inputs for Russia’s defence sector. The PRC cannot enable the largest war in Europe in recent history without this negatively impacting its interests and reputation.”
In response, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pushed back and called NATO’s statements “groundless accusations.” He warned NATO against creating tension with Beijing.
The reality is that China is the largest maker of 152 mm and 122 mm artillery ammunition, 7.62×39 machine gun ammunition, drones, spare parts for all Russian aircraft, missiles, and other vital war material Russia needs to continue the Ukraine war effort. No one else makes the common equipment, ordnance, and supplies Russia needs.
Chinese Ships Sail Through US Territory; Beijing Sends Troops to Europe
NATO’s statement was based on the concern that the Chinese regime was becoming directly involved in the affairs of NATO member nations. Beijing wasted little time adding to this perception by two provocative actions.
Almost immediately upon release of the NATO statement on China, naval forces of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) conducted an “innocent passage” through U.S. territory, the Aleutian Islands chains. Four PLAN ships passed through two points in the chain and then departed.
“Innocent passage” is defined in Article 19 of the U.N. Convention on Laws of the Seas and is allowed with certain restrictions. The PLAN is wily and pushes the envelope of Section 2(d) of the convention, which prohibits transits for the sake of propaganda. In one of the first projections of Chinese military power directly into Europe and the immediate zone of combat in Ukraine, China deployed a Special Operations Task Force into Belarus by mid-July to support “Assault Eagle 2024.” Belarus has been a primary staging and operating base for Russian forces waging war on Ukraine and is the closest point to the Russian-held sovereign territory of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea.
4 Pacific Nations Brought Closer Into the NATO Fold
An outcome of the NATO conference was the elevation of four countries as NATO partner nations. NATO announced “enhanced political dialogue and engagement” with Australia, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. This does not necessarily mean these nations are on a pathway like Sweden and Finland to join NATO as full partners, but their elevated relationship with NATO is a strategic counter-message to the Chinese regime. The four nations issued a communiqué admonishing North Korea because of its dependence on China for machine tools and factory equipment, but it was really a barb at Beijing.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg laid down a further marker aimed at the Chinese regime by saying: “We must work even more closely together to preserve peace and protect the rules-based international order. … Our security is not regional. It is global.”
NATO’s resolve in responding to communist China’s worldwide malign campaign efforts has now been established.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
All viewpoints are personal and do not reflect the viewpoints of any organization.
This article first appeared in Epoch Times and was reprinted with permission.
The post NATO Takes On China appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
