NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says China could ask Russia to start hostilities in Europe to distract the West in the event of an attack on Taiwan.
In an interview with the New York Times, the NATO chief emphasized the need to deter Russia and China by strengthening NATO and cooperating with the Indo-Pacific region.
In the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, Beijing could try to divert the West’s attention by provoking Russia to attack NATO countries.
According to Rutte in such a scenario, Chinese leader Xi Jinping could turn to Russian President Vladimir Putin and ask him to start hostilities in Europe to tie up NATO forces.
If Xi Jinping attacked Taiwan, he would first call Putin in Moscow, and tell him: “Hey, I’m going to do this, and I need you to keep them busy in Europe by attacking NATO territory.”
Rutte said.
He said two things needed to be done to deter the Russians and the Chinese.
The first is to make the prospect of an attack on NATO so suicidal for the Kremlin that it would never agree to go through with it.
The second is to cooperate with the Indo-Pacific region – something that President Trump is actively promoting. “Because we have a close interconnection, joint work in the defense industry, innovations between NATO and the Indo-Pacific region,”’ he said.
He added that Trump is well aware that for the US to remain strong and secure, “interaction with European security and joint work on ensuring the security of the Indo-Pacific region” is needed.
Taiwan accused China of stepping up military pressure in the region in May, deploying dozens of warships and government vessels daily as part of an “extreme pressure campaign.”
