Taipei: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has issued a stark warning over China’s military buildup and its ambitions toward Taiwan, calling the growing alignment between Beijing, Moscow, and other authoritarian regimes a serious threat to global stability. China is rapidly building up its armed forces, has more naval ships than the United States, and 1,000 nuclear warheads, Rutte said during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday.

According to Focus Taiwan, Rutte warned that China is increasingly preparing to pursue its ambition to take over Taiwan and would likely do so in coordination with Russia. Citing NATO intelligence, Rutte emphasized the potential threat posed by this collaboration. Rutte, who served as Dutch prime minister from 2010-2024, made a similar warning in a recent interview with the New York Times, suggesting that Beijing could attempt to seize Taiwan while urging Moscow to launch a parallel attack on NATO territory.

This development highlights the growing interconnectedness of the Transatlantic and Indo-Pacific regions, the NATO chief noted in Berlin. He also pointed to North Korea’s involvement and China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. His remarks came as NATO members agreed weeks ago to increase their annual defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035 in response to “profound security threats and challenges,” underscoring the threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security.

In response, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Thursday that it welcomed the NATO chief’s comments and affirmed its commitment to working with partners such as the G7 and NATO to contribute to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and Taiwan Strait.