NATO Secretary General calls for quantum leap in collective defence against Russia and China

Rutte said US allies would procure at least 700 F-35s (photo of Denmark's first JSFs arriving in the country on 2 October 2023). (NATO)

In a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London during a visit to the UK on 9 June, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned of the Russian and Chinese threats, calling for a “quantum leap” in the alliance's collective defence.

He said, “Russia has teamed up with China, North Korea, and Iran, [which] are expanding their militaries and their capabilities. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's war machine is speeding up, not slowing down. Russia is reconstituting its forces with Chinese technology and producing more weapons faster than we thought. In terms of ammunition, Russia produces in three months what the whole of NATO produces in a year, and its defence industrial base is expected to roll out 1,500 tanks, 3,000 armoured vehicles, and 200 Iskander missiles this year alone.”

Russo-Chinese threat

“Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years,” Rutte said. “[W]e are all on the eastern flank now. The new generation of Russian missiles travels at many times the speed of sound. The distance between European capitals is only a matter of minutes. There is no longer East or West; there is just NATO.”

Regarding China, Rutte said, “[It] is also modernising and expanding its military at breakneck speed. It already has the world's largest navy, and its battle force is expected to grow to 435 ships by 2030. China is also building up its nuclear arsenal, and it aims to have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads, also by 2030.”