China affirmed its opposition to what it described as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) interference in the affairs of Asia and the Pacific, and announced that its defense minister will go to Moscow next Sunday, while Germany warned of the consequences of any escalation in Taiwan, and stressed Europe's rejection of any unilateral change in the status of the island.
For his part, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, Colonel Tan Kefei, expressed his country's strong opposition to NATO's interference in the affairs of Asia and the Pacific, noting that the alliance uses what it claims are "challenges" imposed by China as an excuse to create an Asian version of NATO, as he put it. .
"We strongly oppose NATO's interference in Asia-Pacific affairs through the so-called 'challenge of China' and the creation of an 'Asia-Pacific version of NATO'," he said.
He added that NATO has constantly bypassed traditional defense areas and fields, seeking to strengthen military security relations with the countries of Asia and the Pacific, deliberately stirring up contradictions and disagreements, calling for confrontation between camps, creating regional tensions, and imposing real challenges and threats to the region and to global peace and stability.
For her part, German Foreign Minister Analina Bierbock said from the Chinese capital, Beijing, that any military escalation in the Taiwan Strait would constitute a catastrophic scenario for the entire world, especially since 50% of world trade passes through it.
Birbuck also warned – in a joint press conference with her Chinese counterpart, Chen Gang – the Chinese side against using military force against Taiwan. She said any unilateral change would not be acceptable to the Europeans.
no fly
On the other hand, China said it issued relevant notices regarding the risk of falling debris near Taiwan at the weekend following a satellite launch, thus denying Taipei's claims that a no-fly zone will be imposed in the north of the island, according to Bloomberg News.
"It is not accurate that we have declared a no-fly zone," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular briefing in Beijing on Friday, describing the issuance of the notices on space activities as "a responsible act to ensure aviation safety."
The Taiwanese authorities said earlier that China intends to impose a no-fly zone that includes many international flight routes, starting from 09:30 am until 09:57 am local time the day after tomorrow, Sunday, for "space activities."
Taiwan officials said the airspace closure was initially scheduled for a period of 3 days, which would have conflicted with the G7 foreign ministers' meeting to be held from April 16-18 in Karuizawa, Japan. It is likely that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken would have had to fly to the region for the meeting, coming from a visit to Vietnam.
