China is closely monitoring Russia’s progress in the Ukraine, according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who also noted that the outcome of the European war will probably have a significant impact on Beijing’s actions in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Beijing is watching closely what’s going on in Ukraine. And if Putin wins there, of course, that will impact their decisions on how to behave in Asia,” Stoltenberg told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble.

“What happens in Europe, in Ukraine, matters for Asia, and what happens in Asia matters for Europe,” he said at the Munich Security Conference.

Stoltenberg stated that NATO does not view China as a “imminent” threat before the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He did point out, though, that the military coalition is intensifying its coordination with regional allies like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

“We don’t see China as an enemy or any imminent threat. But we assess that the rise of China, China’s growing economic and military power, is a challenge to our security, to our interests, or to our values.”

He added, “Security is not regional. Security is global.”

The remarks come as worries about China’s expanding military presence near Taiwan grow. They also come after a number of Chinese balloons were found above American airspace, which prompted Washington to charge Beijing with espionage.

According to Stoltenberg, the balloons were a component of a pattern of surveillance techniques China used to gather information on NATO allies.

“The reality is, this is part of a pattern we have seen, where China has stepped up their intelligence activities over many years, using many different platforms such as cyber satellites and other types of platforms to spy on and to gather intelligence from NATO-allied countries, both in North America, but also in Europe,” he added.

(Adapted from FlipBoard.com)

Categories: Geopolitics, Regulations & Legal, Strategy, Uncategorized