China can play role in ending Ukraine war as it has ‘a lot of influence’ on Russia: EU’s top diplomat
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borrell spoke to CNA, after he met with China’s defence minister Li Shangfu on the final day of the Shangri-La Dialogue, in a surprise high-level bilateral meeting between both delegations.
SINGAPORE: Beijing has a role to play in ending the Ukraine war due to its significant influence on Moscow, the European Union’s (EU) top diplomat said on Sunday (June 4).
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borrell met with China’s defence minister Li Shangfu on the final day of the Shangri-La Dialogue, in a surprise high-level bilateral meeting between both delegations.
It was the first time the two met face-to-face, after General Li took over as China’s Minister of National Defence two months ago.
“China has a lot of influence on Russia. If someone can tell (Russian President) Putin ‘You made a big mistake’, if someone can say that with credibility to Putin… it’s certainly China, not me,” Mr Borrell told CNA a few hours after the meeting.
Held in Singapore annually, the Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia’s biggest security summit where the world’s defence ministers gather to exchange views, in both public and closed-door sessions.
This year’s edition was marked by General Li’s refusal to meet with his American counterpart, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The Chinese delegation said the rejection of the invitation from the Americans was due to Washington’s unfair sanctioning of General Li in 2018, in connection with China’s purchase of Russian military equipment at the time.
Mr Borrell described his meeting with General Li as “constructive” and said the two sides discussed the Ukraine and Taiwan issues.
China has been trying to boost its reputation as a global peacemaker.
Earlier this month, China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui, also its former ambassador to Russia, visited the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to discuss resolving the conflict, despite stopping short of condemning Russia’s invasion.
However, Mr Borrell flatly rejected any suggestion that the EU would stop its military support of Ukraine.
The bloc has already provided Ukraine with military, civilian and humanitarian aid to the tune of about 60 billion euros, he said, and if the knock-on impact such as higher food prices and energy bills are included, then the amount rises to a massive 700 billion euros.
“If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine is over. And we don’t want Ukraine to be over. We have to support Ukraine as far as Russia continues fighting,” Mr Borrell told CNA.
TAIWAN: FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION, NOT WAR-MONGERING
Mr Borrell also said that he tried explaining to General Li why Ukraine is as “existentially” important to Europe, as Taiwan is to China.
However, the EU foreign policy chief repeated the point he made in an opinion piece in April this year, that he had asked the navies of some member countries to patrol the Taiwan Straits.
The EU has no unified armed forces under a single command and Mr Borrell does not have executive powers to direct any of the 27 member countries' armed forces.
Individual EU countries have, however, been stepping up their presence in the South China Sea.
Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius said at the Shangri-La Dialogue that his country will be sending two warships to the region next year.
Patrolling international waters is meant to “ensure freedom of navigation, not with a war-mongering mentality” nor hostility towards Beijing, said Mr Borrell.
He said that the EU does not want to interfere in China’s matters, and that “the One China policy means for us… that Taiwan will not be an independent, fully-fledged state”.
His comments came after a string of near confrontations between the US and China in the Taiwan Strait.
The US alleged that a Chinese warship veered dangerously close to the bow of an American destroyer on Saturday, during patrols in the Taiwan Strait.
The incident happened a week after a Chinese fighter jet performed an “unnecessarily aggressive manoeuvre” near an American surveillance aircraft in the South China Sea, according to the US Indo-Pacific Command.
China’s foreign ministry has pushed back in response, calling such surveillance activity “provocative” and “dangerous”.
When asked if the EU would ever go to war over Taiwan, Mr Borrell said it would be a “world catastrophe for everybody”.
