NATO Secretary-General Warns Russia Could Keep Europe Busy If China Attacks Taiwan

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. (Twitter/@SecGenNATO)

JAKARTA - NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned that Russia could try to keep Europe "busy" if China launched a military attack on Taiwan.

In an interview with German newspaper BILD on Sunday, Secretary-General Rutte said Beijing and Moscow are closely linked, with any escalation in the Indo-Pacific having direct consequences for European security.

"We are also seeing a global relationship between China and Russia. China is targeting Taiwan. And I believe that if China takes military action there, it will pressure its junior partner, Russia, under Putin's leadership, to keep us busy in Europe," he said, launching Anadolu (22/12).

With that background, Secretary General Rutte said NATO must immediately strengthen its deterrence, warning Moscow to remain ready to bear heavy losses.

"The reason is Putin. He is ready to sacrifice 1.1 million of his own people. And this year he has made little progress - minimal territorial gains, less than 1 percent of Ukrainian territory compared to the beginning of the year," he explained.

Furthermore, Secretary General Rutte underlined that keeping Ukraine strong is very important for European security.

"If Russia takes over all of Ukraine, it will have a huge impact on NATO - and we will have to spend much more than we have agreed on in The Hague," he said.

The NATO Secretary-General confirmed that discussions are underway regarding the potential contribution of troops.

"Several European countries have indicated that they are willing to contribute troops, if desired," he said, adding that the deployment structure is still being formulated.

Rutte also rejected speculation that Washington might pull out of Europe, praising the role of US President Donald Trump.

"I have to say: Trump is really committed to this issue. He is focused on ending this war. He is the only one who is able to bring Putin to the negotiating table - and the only one who can finally force him to make peace," he said.