NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday expressed concern about Taiwan’s situation amid China’s “massive military buildup.”
Speaking at a news conference at the The Hague, Netherlands, ahead of the start of NATO’s summit yesterday, Rutte said that countries with close ties to NATO, such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, are also concerned, given that three to five Chinese defense companies now rank among the world’s top 10, unlike a few years ago when none were on the list.
“Of course, they don’t do this only because they want to have nice parades in Beijing,” Rutte said.
Photo: AFP
Asked about the worst-case scenario in which the US, under the Taiwan Relations Act, supports or even defends Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, Rutte said that NATO, as an alliance, has no “opt-out” option.
However, China would make sure that their partner Russia “keeps us busy here [in Europe]” if they “try anything with Taiwan,” he said.
“That is one of the reasons why we have to stand ready, and we cannot be naive,” he said, adding that “extra defense spending is important.”
Rutte said that allies would reach the 2014 benchmark of investing 2 percent of GDP in defense this year, but a new baseline of 5 percent of GDP would be introduced at the summit.
Asked about the situation in Iran, Rutte said that NATO allies have “long agreed that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon” and that they have “repeatedly urged Iran to meet its obligations under the non-proliferation treaty.”
He added that NATO’s “support for Ukraine is unwavering and will persist.”
European and Canadian allies have pledged more than 35 billion euros (US$40.6 billion) of additional security assistance to Ukraine for the year ahead, he said.
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