Relations between Russia and China are above military alliances and are fundamentally different from relations between NATO countries that are engaged in bloc confrontation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday.
"Relations between Russia and China are based on the principles of non-alignment with blocs, non-confrontation, and non-targeting against third parties. Relations between the two countries have transcended the model of military-political alliances of the Cold War and formed a model of relations between major powers," Wang told reporters, adding that they "fundamentally differ from [relations among] the NATO countries involved in the creation of narrow groups and bloc confrontation."
China Comes First: Why NATO's Office in Japan Faces Uncertainty
Ahead of the NATO summit in Lithuania, it was reported that the Western military alliance is ready to postpone a decision on the establishment of a liaison office in Tokyo, possibly until the fall or later.
Given the pushback on NATO's new Tokyo liaison office, Sputnik looked into which country in the alliance is "slowing down" the move and why this country’s motives do not align with the current ambitions of Tokyo, which seeks closer integration with the bloc and is gradually becoming its unofficial ally in Asia.
It is well known that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was the driving force behind the establishment of a NATO office in Tokyo. In April, however, French President Emmanuel Macron voiced his opposition to the idea, expressing concerns about a potential backlash from Beijing.
The fact that the French president's position has not changed in recent months indicates that relations with China are much more important to Paris than those of Tokyo, believes Russian expert Pavel Timofeev, head of department at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"France is trying not to escalate relations with China, understanding that it perceives Western Europe as merely a junior partner of the United States," the expert said.
Meanwhile, according to Timofeev, Paris wants to show Beijing that the European Union is an independent player in the region and does not always follow Washington's policies. Although France is in solidarity with the White House's position on Taiwan and North Korea and criticizes China for alleged human rights violations, the latter is too attractive as an economic partner to rock the boat too much.
Therefore, for several years, France has been trying to create a group of European countries capable of actively manifesting itself in the Indo-Pacific region independently of the United States.
"The goal is to present itself as a 'third way' and a center of power in the Asia-Pacific region. However, Paris has not been very successful in doing so. Nevertheless, President Macron understands that France will not have a good dialogue with China if it abandons such attempts and aspirations. That is why, unlike Washington, France is trying to maintain a more restrained course with Beijing," Pavel Timofeev noted.
According to the expert, China is economically important for France, so Macron does not intend to worsen relations with it for the sake of opening a NATO liaison office in Tokyo.
Macron's announcement just before the NATO summit serves as a strong signal that he intends to draw attention to the fractures already emerging within the upcoming summit, said K J Noh, a journalist and political analyst specializing in Asia-Pacific geopolitics. This move suggests his intention to publicly highlight these divisions before addressing them directly with the other participants.
“It’s not just Macron who is actually opposed to the Japanese, there are other NATO countries. And Macron's reasoning is impeccable. Article 6 [of the NATO Charter] states that Article 5 covers only territories in Europe, North America and islands north of the Tropic of Cancer," K J Noh noted.
Previously, Macron, accompanied by a number of French business leaders, visited China to meet with President Xi Jinping. The exceptionally warm reception allowed the European country to move forward with business deals, including a major order for Airbus Europe.
Regarding the potential response from Japan to the "postponement" in opening a NATO office in Tokyo, France shares numerous overlapping political concerns with the country.
However, Paris seems to be currently prioritizing economic projects with China over those with Japan, as China's status as a growing rival to the United States is gaining prominence, making it increasingly important for Franco-Chinese relations. In contrast, this particular factor is absent in the context of relations with Japan, the Russian expert noted.
"Accordingly, Paris is not overly concerned about Tokyo's reaction. Of course, Japan has a reason to be 'offended', but it will most likely refrain from creating a scandal because of France's opposition. After all, the Japanese themselves understand the immense economic importance of China and that the latter is much more important for the EU than Japan," Timofeev said.
A source close to the French president's office told journalists that the opening of a NATO office in the Indo-Pacific region is not considered advantageous at the moment. As a result, the Western military alliance is expected to make a final decision on establishing the office by the end of the year.
Statements in Vilnius confirm NATO’s anti-Russian attitude — envoy
Declarations made in Vilnius where a NATO summit is being held confirm the US-led bloc’s anti-Russian attitude and its readiness to accumulate more troops near Russian borders, Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said.
"The statements in Vilnius confirmed the anti-Russian drive of NATO. Without exaggeration, Russia is identified as the main threat to the North Atlantic Alliance. All the bloc's resources have been thrown into the fight against our country. Defense contractors are profiting off the ‘hybrid war’ unleashed by Washington while ordinary citizens in Western countries are paying for it. Few here care about the fate of Ukrainians, thrusted by US and NATO curators into a ‘slaughterhouse,’" the diplomat stressed as quoted by the Russian Embassy on its Telegram channel.
"We are stunned by the outright falsification of the truth, which is used by the Summit participants to justify their aggressive policy against Russia. Our enemies without any evidence are trying to lay on us the responsibility for the crisis of the European security architecture. Once again they pretend that they know nothing about the promise, given to Mikhail Gorbachev by ex-Secretary of State James Baker about non-expansion of NATO to the East. After the collapse of the USSR Washington and its European satellites deliberately brought the military infrastructure closer to our borders, creating unacceptable threats to the security of the Russian Federation," the envoy noted.
"The meeting in Vilnius has demonstrated the bloc's intention to concentrate more and more troops on Russian borders. We have nowhere to retreat. The aggressive decisions of the Summit will not undermine Russia's confidence in the rightness of its actions. We have no doubt that all goals of the Special Military Operation will be fully achieved," Antonov added.
The first working day of the NATO summit in Vilnius concluded on Tuesday. According to a communique announced by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the participants had made a decision not to demand from Ukraine to fulfill the Membership Action Plan and approved a multi-year military support package for that country. The bloc’s leaders vowed to admit Ukraine to the alliance when all "conditions are met" but only following the end of the conflict. The final communique also asserts that purportedly "the Russian Federation is the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area."
Western-Made 'How To Become an Agitator' Manuals for Ukraine Unearthed in Liberated Russian City
The discovery made by Russian authorities in the Donetsk Region shed light on what US government agencies have been up to in Ukraine over the past few years.
Information manuals, often trotted out as 'educational material' printed with the help of Western government agencies and NGOs, which instruct college students about the basics of political activism, were discovered by authorities in the city of Volnovakha that was earlier controlled by the Kiev regime until 2022 when it was liberated by Russian forces.
A Ukrainian-language book entitled “Democracy: From Theory to Practice” teaches students how to organize small youth groups in order to engage in political 'activism'.
The book, among other things, advised students to vigorously use popular social media platforms in order to maximize the effect of their activism.
According to the information on the book’s front page, it was printed in 2019 with the help of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Department for International Development, Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).
Also, a pamphlet titled “Life Skills for Active Citizenship” was uncovered by the authorities in one of Volnovakha’s schools. It is essentially a teaching guide for high-school instructors, printed in Ukrainian, and bankrolled by the European Union.
Western government agencies and NGOs have been working on spreading what they describe as “democracy” since the times of the Cold War, with their efforts reaching a whole new level after the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago.
While these organizations and groups, such as the aforementioned USAID, claim that they merely seek to provide assistance to nations that require it and to help spread freedom and democracy, their activities usually amount to advancing the interests of US-led Western governments and the power brokers they represent.
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