"Not if, but when - and it will happen soon - NATO penetrates the Asia-Pacific region, I think that they will claim once again that a defense policy remains in effect and NATO is a defensive alliance, it’s just that their line of defense will lie in the South China Sea," he noted, according to TASS.
Back in June, NATO listed China as one of its strategic priorities for the first time, considering its economic and military power, a challenge to the interests, security and values of this alliance.
MNA/PR