٠٠:٠٤:٣٣Mandatory credit: NATO TV
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed China was 'oppressing its own people' and condemned the country's joint drills with Belarus, during a press briefing at the 75th anniversary summit in Washington DC on Thursday.
"China is oppressing its own people, cracking down on democratic voices- they crushed actually democratic voices in Hong Kong, more assertive behaviour in the South China Sea, threatening neighbours, threatening Taiwan," he alleged.
"China is conducting a huge military build-up with no transparency and investing heavily in new modern missiles, nuclear weapons," he continued.
The drills, reportedly near the Polish border, take place over 11 days, starting on Monday.
The Summit declaration also accused China of being a 'decisive enabler' of the conflict in Ukraine. In response Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that "China absolutely does not accept the groundless accusations made at the recent summit in Washington against China”
“Nato should stay within its bounds, and refrain from interfering in Asia-Pacific affairs or China’s internal affairs, and from challenging China’s legitimate rights and interests,” he added.
Meanwhile Stoltenberg also praised the 'NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis Training and Education Centre' in Poland.
"All of this support will make Ukraine stronger and more capable," he stated, while reiterating that it would "serve as a bridge to NATO".
"Allies have agreed that as Ukraine continues necessary reforms, we will support them on the irreversible path to membership," he added.
During the summit, Stoltenberg also confirmed his backing for Ukraine to use allies' weaponry for strikes on targets inside Russia - which Moscow has repeatedly condemned.
The declaration agreed at the summit included a key role for NATO in distributing military aid to Ukraine, taking over from the US, which was seen as an attempt to negate the impact of a potential Trump presidency. Allies also announced 40 billion euros for Kiev over the next year, while the 'reforms' Stoltenberg referred to come amid reports that the country was set to be told it was 'too corrupt' to join the alliance.
'China's oppressing its own people' - Stoltenberg criticises Beijing's joint drills with Belarus while backing NATO's 'Poland-Ukraine training centre'
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed China was 'oppressing its own people' and condemned the country's joint drills with Belarus, during a press briefing at the 75th anniversary summit in Washington DC on Thursday.
"China is oppressing its own people, cracking down on democratic voices- they crushed actually democratic voices in Hong Kong, more assertive behaviour in the South China Sea, threatening neighbours, threatening Taiwan," he alleged.
"China is conducting a huge military build-up with no transparency and investing heavily in new modern missiles, nuclear weapons," he continued.
The drills, reportedly near the Polish border, take place over 11 days, starting on Monday.
The Summit declaration also accused China of being a 'decisive enabler' of the conflict in Ukraine. In response Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that "China absolutely does not accept the groundless accusations made at the recent summit in Washington against China”
“Nato should stay within its bounds, and refrain from interfering in Asia-Pacific affairs or China’s internal affairs, and from challenging China’s legitimate rights and interests,” he added.
Meanwhile Stoltenberg also praised the 'NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis Training and Education Centre' in Poland.
"All of this support will make Ukraine stronger and more capable," he stated, while reiterating that it would "serve as a bridge to NATO".
"Allies have agreed that as Ukraine continues necessary reforms, we will support them on the irreversible path to membership," he added.
During the summit, Stoltenberg also confirmed his backing for Ukraine to use allies' weaponry for strikes on targets inside Russia - which Moscow has repeatedly condemned.
The declaration agreed at the summit included a key role for NATO in distributing military aid to Ukraine, taking over from the US, which was seen as an attempt to negate the impact of a potential Trump presidency. Allies also announced 40 billion euros for Kiev over the next year, while the 'reforms' Stoltenberg referred to come amid reports that the country was set to be told it was 'too corrupt' to join the alliance.
Mandatory credit: NATO TV
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed China was 'oppressing its own people' and condemned the country's joint drills with Belarus, during a press briefing at the 75th anniversary summit in Washington DC on Thursday.
"China is oppressing its own people, cracking down on democratic voices- they crushed actually democratic voices in Hong Kong, more assertive behaviour in the South China Sea, threatening neighbours, threatening Taiwan," he alleged.
"China is conducting a huge military build-up with no transparency and investing heavily in new modern missiles, nuclear weapons," he continued.
The drills, reportedly near the Polish border, take place over 11 days, starting on Monday.
The Summit declaration also accused China of being a 'decisive enabler' of the conflict in Ukraine. In response Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that "China absolutely does not accept the groundless accusations made at the recent summit in Washington against China”
“Nato should stay within its bounds, and refrain from interfering in Asia-Pacific affairs or China’s internal affairs, and from challenging China’s legitimate rights and interests,” he added.
Meanwhile Stoltenberg also praised the 'NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis Training and Education Centre' in Poland.
"All of this support will make Ukraine stronger and more capable," he stated, while reiterating that it would "serve as a bridge to NATO".
"Allies have agreed that as Ukraine continues necessary reforms, we will support them on the irreversible path to membership," he added.
During the summit, Stoltenberg also confirmed his backing for Ukraine to use allies' weaponry for strikes on targets inside Russia - which Moscow has repeatedly condemned.
The declaration agreed at the summit included a key role for NATO in distributing military aid to Ukraine, taking over from the US, which was seen as an attempt to negate the impact of a potential Trump presidency. Allies also announced 40 billion euros for Kiev over the next year, while the 'reforms' Stoltenberg referred to come amid reports that the country was set to be told it was 'too corrupt' to join the alliance.