China risks triggering World War III over Taiwan

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned of a nightmare World War III plot with China and Russia launching a twin attack. In a domesday scenario, the fallout from such unprovoked aggression would risk triggering nuclear annihilation.

Top secret talks between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin would precede the military strikes on Taiwan and an Eastern European NATO ally. It would set the stage for open conflict with the West. 

“There’s an increasing realization, and let’s not be naive about this: If Xi attack[s] Taiwan, he would first make sure [he calls] his very junior partner in all of this, Putin in Moscow,” Rutte told The New York Times in a major interview.

“[He would tell] him, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this, and I need you to keep them busy in Europe by attacking NATO territory,’” he said in remarks published at the weekend.

What this would mean:

• NATO is an acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of 32-member states.
• It includes Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• “The principle of collective defense is enshrined in Article 5” of the NATO treaty.

[China] fears the United States would shift its whole focus.

South China Morning Post

Delve deeper: “To deter [China and Russia], we need to do two things. One is that NATO, collectively, being so strong that the Russians will never do this,” Rutte said.

Between the lines: “And second, working with the Indo-Pacific – something President [Donald] Trump is very much promoting – on defense [and] innovation,” he pointed out.

Big picture: None of this is idle speculation. Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, that Beijing did not want to see a Russian defeat in Ukraine, the South China Morning Post exclusively reported.

Bottom line: Wang confirmed that China “feared the United States would then shift its whole focus” to Beijing’s rapid military build-up around Taiwan, the South China Sea and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

Behind the scenes: Without Xi’s “no limits partnership” with Putin, Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine would have collapsed instead of dragging on into a fourth year. The Trump administration’s apathy towards Kyiv’s plight has also been alarming.   

China Factor comment: If Ukraine was defeated, Moscow would become emboldened, moving against one of the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania. The trio are NATO allies close to Russia’s border, so an attack there could ignite World War III.