Military

Beijing Says NATO Should Reduce Role of Nuclear Weapons in Security Policy

BEIJING (Sputnik) - NATO states should reduce the role of nuclear weapons in the policy of ensuring national and collective security if the member states are interested in lowering strategic risks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday.
Sputnik
"If NATO member countries are really interested in reducing strategic risks and maintaining strategic stability, they should take practical actions to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in national and collective security policy," Wang told a briefing.
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The spokesman added that China was concerned over NATO's nuclear "irresponsible warmongering" because the alliance "with the most powerful nuclear arms resorted to microphone diplomacy" in recent years.
"China has always stuck to an extremely cautious and responsible stance on the issue of nuclear weapons and has always adhered to a defensive nuclear strategy and maintained its nuclear forces at the lowest level necessary for ensuring national security," Wang said.
He added that China was "the only country" that committed to this policy and questioned whether NATO member states would be able to make such a commitment.
On Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that member countries had agreed to jointly counter China's growing influence and military power. At the same time, NATO states said in a joint statement following the first day of the summit in Vilnius that China's policy was a challenge to the interests, security and values ​​of the alliance, but NATO remained open to interaction with China.
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China's diplomatic mission to the European Union said that NATO countries misrepresented Beijing's policies in their joint statement and deliberately discredited the country.
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