European leaders travelled to Asia with a key message this week: they must work more closely together to preserve the rules-based order from threats from China and Russia.

Source: European Pravda; Bloomberg

Details:Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, and French President Emmanuel Macron have highlighted the link between Russia's war against Ukraine and Russia's deepening relations with China in a series of speeches in Southeast Asia in recent days.

"It is the greatest challenge of our time," Kallas said on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's top forum for defence leaders, military officers and diplomats.

"When China and Russia speak of leading together changes not seen in a hundred years and of revisions of the global security order, we should all be extremely worried," Kallas added.

Kallas accused China of facilitating Russia's war machine, saying that 80% of the dual-use goods used to fight Ukraine come from the world's second-largest economy. She recalled that US Secretary of Defence Pete Hagel warned of the threat from China to the rest of Asia and said that Russia should also be a major concern.

"If you are worried about China, you should be worried about Russia," Kallas said.

Western officials accuse China of supplying Russia with critical technologies, including drones, while claiming that both countries are involved in cyberattacks, acts of sabotage and dangerous activities related to infrastructure, such as deep-sea cables.

Background:

• Kallas called on European and Asian partners to cooperate to combat secret shadow tanker fleets and review maritime security laws.
• Emmanuel Macron warned China of a potentially stronger NATO presence in Asia if it does not take additional measures to stop North Korea from engaging in war against Ukraine.

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