A Chinese Communist Party newspaper today considered that NATO is leading “western civilization” down a “wrong and dangerous” path, alluding to greater alliance involvement in the Asia-Pacific region.
“A NATO infiltration in Asia-Pacific is likely to lead Western civilization to face unprecedented setbacks in the most economically vibrant region of the world,” recalled the Global Times, an English-language newspaper of the People’s Daily group, the Party’s central organ. Communist (PCC).
“China cannot allow Western military forces to interfere in any way in its internal affairs”, reads the editorial, adding that Beijing “already has the capacity to combat such interference”.
During the NATO summit that starts Tuesday in Vilnius, the implementation of the Strategic Concept adopted in 2022 will be addressed. “interests, security and values” of its members.
Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, which participated in the NATO summit last year, will be present in Vilnius.
In particular, the organization is studying the opening of an office in Japan, a country that has historical rivalries and territorial disputes with China. French President Emmanuel Macron has already spoken out against it, saying that the measure would be a “huge mistake”.
The different views between the allies regarding China are also motivated by the relevance of trade ties between the Asian country and Europe: China represents almost 10% of the continent’s exports and around 20% of its imports.
The Global Times recalled, however, that the existing disagreements within NATO “are not fundamentally about whether [the organization should] expand or not, but rather about what kind of expansion to pursue, and whether this process should be slower or faster. ”.
The newspaper said that there is a “change” in NATO’s traditional policy, founded with a focus on defence, as “a growing number of member countries and leaders demonstrate a stronger ambition towards expansion”.
Leaders of the transatlantic alliance have already warned that what is happening in Europe with the war in Ukraine could be replicated in Asia, with an invasion of Taiwan by China.
China and Taiwan have lived as two autonomous territories since 1949, when the former Chinese nationalist government took refuge on the island after the defeat in the civil war against the communists. Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and threatens to reunify it through force if the island formally declares independence.
“If [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin were to win in Ukraine, this would send the message that authoritarian regimes can achieve their goals through brute force,” said UN Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Tokyo. , earlier this year. “This is dangerous. Beijing is watching closely and learning lessons, which could influence its future decisions,” he noted.
For the Global Times, however, “NATO’s aggressiveness is not only an expansion of military deterrence, but also an expansion of values”.
“The expansion of Western civilization is, until today, inseparable from its aggressive and offensive nature”, the editorial reads. “When challenged, the aggressive elements of their nature become more active and proactive,” he pointed out.
*With Lusa
