NATO chief predicts how China could set off World War III: ‘Let's not be naive about this'

New York Post

a day ago

World War III will erupt when Chinese President Xi Jinping invades Taiwan and tasks Russian leader and ally Vladimir Putin to attack NATO nations to keep them out of the Pacific, the defense block's top chief warned.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said it would be 'naive' to believe that Xi's ambition to conquer the autonomous nation of Taiwan would only involve the two countries, predicting that the war would be fought on two fronts.
'There's an increasing realization, and let's not be naive about this: If Xi Jinping would attack Taiwan, he would first make sure that he makes a call to his very junior partner in all of this, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, residing in Moscow, and telling him, 'Hey, I'm going to do this, and I need you to keep them busy in Europe by attacking NATO territory,'' Rutte told The New York Times.
4 NATO Chief Mark Rutte warned that China could tap Russia to invade further into Europe to distract the West from responding to the looming invasion of Taiwan.
RUT / SplashNews.com
Xi and Putin have touted their close partnership throughout Russia' invasion of Ukraine, with the Chinese president previously stating that their alliance has 'no limits.'
Rutte's prediction that Beijing would use Moscow to distract the West echoes reports from the European Union's meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week, where the official allegedly claimed Xi cannot afford to see Russia lose the war in Ukraine.
The shock revelation reportedly saw Wang drop all pretenses and described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a blessing that allowed focus to shift away from Beijing's looming invasion of Taiwan, sources familiar with the talks told the South China Morning Post.
American and Taiwanese officials predicted that China would mount its assault on Taiwan come 2027, as Beijing seeks to annex the independent country.
4 Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, Russian President Vladimir Putin have touted their partnership in recent years.
AP
Rutte warned that the world has also seen what a Russo-Pacific alliance can accomplish through the developments of the war in Ukraine, which has already seen more than 12,000 North Korean soldiers deployed to assist Moscow's invasion effort.
The conflict has also seen Moscow get its hands on Iranian-made drones, with the EU also accusing Chinese companies of supporting Russia's military complex.
'So here, the Indo-Pacific and your Atlantic are getting more and more interconnected,' Rutte explained as he backed the call for NATO nations to raise their defense spending.
4 China has held multiple drills along Taiwan as it warned that it will annex the country one day.
AP
'We know that China has its eye on Taiwan. Given this whole geopolitical setup, there is no way we can defend ourselves if we stick to this old 2 percent,' he added.
In order to curb the risk of global war, Rutte said it was imperative that NATO bolster its forces in order to scare Russia from expanding its invasion further into Europe.
He also called on western nations to unite and curb China's aggression in the Indo-Pacific, which has seen Beijing perform several, large-scale military drills surrounding Taiwan.
4 Rutte called on NATO nations to bolster their defenses so that Russia would be too scared to invade another European country.
AFP via Getty Images
Former Russian President and top Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev slammed Rutte's prediction of World War III and mocked the NATO secretary general on X.
'SG Rutte has clearly gorged on too many of the magic mushrooms beloved by the Dutch,' Medvedev wrote.
'He sees collusion between China & Russia over Taiwan, and then a Russian attack on Europe,' he added. 'But he's right about one thing: he should learn Russian. It might come in handy in a Siberian camp.