Stoltenberg incites Europeans against China at the MSC: Global Times

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Global Times
20 Feb 2023 00:06

Stoltenberg acts as the US' mouthpiece sugarcoating the Americans' Sino-paranoia into a package that appeals to European sentiments by drawing parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan, said GT.

Stoltenberg giving a speech at the Munich Security Conference, 2023 (NATO website)

On Saturday, at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg incited an atmosphere of fearmongering among the meeting officials by tying China to the war in Ukraine.

He cautioned, "What is occurring in Europe today could happen in Asia tomorrow," alluding to Taiwan. At the MSC, Stoltenberg acted as the US' mouthpiece sugarcoating the Americans' Sino-paranoia into a package that appeals to European sentiments by drawing parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan, according to Global Times Chinese news outlet.

Vice-president Kamala Harris also had her share of warmongering to paint China as a threat to Europe by capitalizing on China's support for Russia in an effort to portray the US as Europe's aegis and spearhead in the face of China and Russia.

Ultimately the MSC was used as a platform to incite fear among European officials to mobilize them against the enemies of the US: Russia and China.

According to Song Zhongping, a Chinese military analyst and TV commentator interviewed by GT, the US is ambitious that NATO may expand beyond being a transatlantic military alliance and become a global force. Thus, the US must continue to exaggerate external dangers, mobilize European member states whose interests do not always coincide with that of the US and scare them into increasing their military spending: citing US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's announcement in Brussel last Wednesday that NATO members would agree to a new commitment this summer to increase defense spending.

"NATO keeps talking about China, which only proves that it is the execution machine of the US' will. This thwarts Europe's pursuit of strategic independence, and hijacks the collective defense of Europe," said Song.

Additionally, Sun Xihui, an associate research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with the Global Times that Stoltenberg promotes escalation in an effort to mobilize Japan, South Korea, and even Southeast Asian nations by heightening their sense of insecurity to prompt them towards strengthening their military ties with the US. According to Xihui, Stoltenberg thought he would be putting international pressure on Beijing by drawing attention to Taiwan by warmongering at the MSC.