File image of Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
New Delhi: Retired four-star Army General Jack Keane said on Sunday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s warning that China could give Russia lethal assistance may actually prompt Beijing to abandon those plans.
In an interview on Sunday, Blinken had said that China was “strongly considering” sending Russia ammunition and weapons as its war on Ukraine reaches the one-year mark.
“I agree with the administration for beginning to expose what they have picked up, likely in intelligence circles, that China is getting ready to provide some military lethal aid to Russia,” Keane, a Fox News analyst, said on Fox News Sunday.
“And I think coming out and exposing — and I would go further and tell them — what we think they are attempting to provide, China will pull back, likely, after that public exposure,” Keane added.
China, Russia strategic partners
Calling China and Russia “strategic partners”, Keane said that “we shouldn’t be surprised that China wants Russia to succeed.”
“Remember, China has not condemned the invasion. They have not condemned that it’s illegal. They have not come out and spoken against genocide and war crimes that are being committed,” Keane said.
“Certainly, China has been buying as much Russian oil as they possibly can and helping them with the sanctions that are imposed on them.”
Strained US-China ties
Concerns that Beijing could give Russia a boost come amid strained US-China ties after the Biden administration shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon earlier this month.
Blinken postponed a planned trip to China amid the controversy, but met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where he raised the issue of lethal support for Russia.
“I made clear the importance of not crossing that line and the fact that it would have serious consequences on our own relationship, something that we do not need on top of the balloon incident that China is engaged in,” Blinken said.
With inputs from agencies
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