The former NATO chief of staff, Admiral James Stavridis, has expressed concern that the latest Chinese aggression toward Taiwan, which has involved Chinese vessels entering Taiwanese territorial seas, could quickly escalate into armed conflict. The leaders of NATO have been worried about China’s tactics toward Taiwan for a while now. According to reports, the standoff between the naval warships of the two countries in the South China Sea has brought the region closer to the verge of conflict.
Stavridis, a veteran military ship captain, said that the video showing the Chinese navy overtaking a Taiwanese vessel made his heart “stop.” The head of NATO blasted the strategy, calling it “unprofessional” and “highly provocative.” The laws of marine traffic safety were also broken by the Chinese warship during its near approach with the Taiwanese vessel.
According to media sources, the video of the Chinese ship passing the Taiwanese ship came one week after a Chinese fighter jet performed a “aggressive maneuver” too close to a U.S. reconnaissance plane.
Sir Richard Shirreff, another former NATO commander, recently warned that if the alliance does not fully support Ukraine’s military effort against Russia’s entry into its territory, it risks an all-out conflict with Russia. Shirreff stated in May the conflict between Ukraine and Russia had reached an “inflection point.” In Shirreff’s view, NATO must either supply Ukraine with the tools needed to push back the Russian offensive or risk having to actively intervene in the conflict in “two to three years.”
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg had already issued a warning to member nations and world leaders that the mechanism for regulating the spread of WMD globally was at risk of “collapse” earlier this year.
