In an interview with US media ahead of the summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described China as “the main enabler of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”

According to the US assessment, China is the top supplier of machine tools, microelectronics, and nitrocellulose — critical to making munitions and rocket propellers — and other dual-use items that Moscow uses to ramp up its defense industrial base.

In June, South Korean National Security Advisor Chang Ho-jin told reporters Seoul will review the possibility of supplying weapons to Ukraine, after the leaders of North Korea and Russia signed a pact pledging mutual defense in the event of war.

NATO has collaborated with partners in the Indo-Pacific since the early 2000s, but Russia’s war against Ukraine and security challenges posed by China have led to a deeper engagement.

Ahead of the meeting, NATO chief Stoltenberg said the alliance and its Indo-Pacific partners “will build on our practical cooperation with flagship projects on Ukraine, cyber, and new technologies.”

Last year, France blocked a NATO plan to open a liaison office in Japan, insisting the alliance is geographically confined to the North Atlantic.

Saved 78% of original text.