cross-posted from: lemmy.sdf.org/post/38077700
Original NYT article (paywalled)
If Chinese leader Xi Jinping decides to attack Taiwan, he could ask Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to start a war in Europe to distract the United States.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said this in an interview with New York Times.
“If Xi Jinping were to attack Taiwan, he would first call his junior partner about it and tell him, ‘Hey, I’m going to do this, and I need you to distract them in Europe by attacking NATO territory.’ That’s probably exactly what will happen,” Rutte said.
He noted that this proves once again how interconnected the destinies of Europe, the Atlantic, the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific are.
He said this is why the defense of territories and strategic cooperation between NATO and Indo-Pacific countries should be strengthened.