Washington. November 15th. INTERFAX - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in an interview with Axios, did not answer a journalist's question about what role the alliance would play if Beijing launches military actions against Taiwan.
"If I started answering all your hypothetical questions, I would only increase the tension that we are seeing in this region," he said.
Nevertheless, as the portal notes, "Stoltenberg has recently done a lot to expand the NATO mission, including "systemic challenges" from China."
Taiwan is not connected to NATO in any form, however, according to Axios, "its fate is connected with the opposition of the United States and the West to China's ambitions."
As reported, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in a telephone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week, said that the United States is concerned about Beijing's actions against Taiwan and stands for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait area.
"The Secretary of State stressed that the United States is consistently interested in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait area and expressed concern about the ongoing military, diplomatic and economic pressure of the PRC on Taiwan," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Saturday informed in a message about the conversation that Wang Yi outlined to Blinken China's position on Taiwan "in response to the response to the recent incorrect words and actions of the United States" on this issue.
The Minister noted that any support for the forces advocating the independence of the island contributes to the violation of peace in the Strait and, ultimately, will have consequences."
According to him, "if the United States really wants to preserve peace in the Taiwan Strait, it must clearly and resolutely oppose any actions aimed at "Taiwan independence", adhere to the one-China policy and "stop sending wrong signals to the forces of "Taiwan independence."