VIDEO | Andonovic: Russian victory in Ukraine will encourage China to attack Taiwan?
This dilemma was practically renewed by the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, who is in the framework of his visit to South Korea and Japan.
Stoltenberg's visit to the Far East has remained an enigma for many, especially since during the war in Ukraine, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance is going to a region that is not in the domain of NATO.
From there, the suspicions that something is happening in the frozen conflict called Taiwan and, above all, China's expansion in the Pacific, heated up.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed to strengthen ties, saying Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Russia's growing military cooperation with China had created the most tense security atmosphere since World War II.
Worried about Moscow's nuclear threats, joint military exercises between Russia and China near Japan and the development of nuclear weapons in North Korea, Stoltenberg and Kishida said in a joint statement after the meeting: "The world is at a historic turning point in the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II."
Stoltenberg, who arrived in Japan from South Korea, estimated that Russia's victory in Ukraine will encourage China at a time when it is strengthening its military, "bullying its neighbors and threatening Taiwan."
That is why the war in Ukraine is not only a European crisis, but also a challenge to the world order, Stoltenberg said, adding that "Beijing is carefully watching and learning lessons that can influence its future decisions." What happens today in Europe, tomorrow can happen in East Asia", reads NATO's position.
Beijing and Pyongyang have accused NATO of using the war in Ukraine to expand its influence and Cold War mentality in the Asia-Pacific region. That is why the visit of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to South Korea and Japan was interpreted in accordance with the new strategy of the military alliance that "Russia is the biggest direct threat" and China is a "systemic challenge".
