The Chinese mission to the European Union on Tuesday denounced a NATO statement that declared Beijing a “security challenge,” saying China is actually a force for peace but will defend itself if threatened.
The Chinese news release said the NATO statement was a “slander on China's peaceful development, a misjudgment of the international situation and (NATO's) own role, and a continuation of the Cold War mentality and organisational political psychology.”
China said it had pursued a “defensive” national defence policy, and spent less than 1.3 per cent of its GDP on defence, compared to NATO’s “pass line” (NATO asks member states to spend at least 2 per cent of their GDP on defence to bolster the Alliance’s military readiness).
China will “never give up the right to maintain peace but unswervingly defend our sovereignty, security and development interests," the mission said.
The response came after NATO allies on Monday declared China a “constant security challenge”, saying the grouping would “engage China with a view to defending the security interests of the Alliance”.
In its statement, the first since US President Joe Biden took over from the NATO-wary Donald Trump, NATO said, “China's stated ambitions and assertive behaviour present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to Alliance security.”
“China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal with more warheads and a larger number of sophisticated delivery systems to establish a nuclear triad. It is opaque in implementing its military modernisation and its publicly declared military-civil fusion strategy. It is also cooperating militarily with Russia, including through participation in Russian exercises in the Euro-Atlantic area. We remain concerned with China’s frequent lack of transparency and use of disinformation. We call on China to uphold its international commitments and to act responsibly in the international system, including in the space, cyber, and maritime domains, in keeping with its role as a major power.”
Washington singled out China as a particular threat, especially in the South China Sea, where it has built and militarised artificial islands, as well as over its attempts to intimidate self-governing Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory to be annexed by military force if necessary.
The statement also focused on Russia, whose “aggressive actions” it called a “threat to Euro-Atlantic security”. The statement mentioned Russia 63 times and China 10 times. It also mentioned Belarus, calling on the country to “abide by international law, respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, including those belonging to the Union of Poles in Belarus.”
