The defense department of the United States, the Pentagon has warned China of consequences if it provides military aid to Russia as concerns mount that Beijing will support Moscow’s war in Ukraine with weapons and munitions.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Wednesday February 22, that there ‘will be consequences for China’ if it were to provide lethal military aid to Russia in its war against Ukraine.
‘[W]e haven’t seen them give lethal aid to Russia at this time, for the war, but they haven’t also taken that off the table,’ Singh said.
‘And so we have been consistent from here, and I believe Secretary Blinken also met with his counterpart in Germany just last week, we reinforced there that … there will be consequences for China should this partnership with Russia, further deepen.’
Singh declined to comment on what those consequences would look like.
Singh added that China providing lethal aid to Russia in its war against Ukraine would ‘certainly be a miscalculation.’
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Sunday said the U.S. has warned China of consequences of crossing the red line if the nation supplies any lethal assistance to Russia.
China is one of the few nations that has not condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine, and trade between Beijing and Moscow soared to record levels in 2022.
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, traveled to Russia and met with Putin this week. And Xi is planning a visit to Moscow in the coming months, per The Wall Street Journal.
