China ‘massively’ fuels Russia’s war chest, says Finnish defence minister
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Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen (podium) at the Nordic Defence Cooperation meeting on Nov 12, with (from left) Norwegian Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik, Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir and Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- Finland's Defence Minister Hakkanen says China is "massively financing Russia's war chest," enabling Russia's prolonged war in Ukraine.
- Hakkanen highlights Chinese support includes military components, defence industry cooperation, and joint exercises, posing a challenge to Nato.
- Nordic countries are increasing defence cooperation, including fighter aircraft integration, ammunition production, and military mobility corridors.
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HELSINKI - Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen on Nov 12 said China was “massively” financing Russia’s war efforts, which increases the security threat in Europe and poses a challenge to Nato.
Speaking to AFP, Mr Hakkanen said Russia’s cooperation with China had “gone so far” that “China is currently massively financing Russia’s war chest”.
“Russia would not be able to wage war for very long with its own resources. India, of course, provides funding in other ways, but China is doing so quite deliberately,” the minister said, after meeting with his Nordic counterparts in Helsinki.
“It is supplying military components, cooperating in the defence industry, and organising joint military exercises and various other large-scale activities in the Arctic, Indo-Pacific and European regions,” he added, calling it a big but manageable challenge for the Western military alliance Nato.
Nordic countries are stepping up their defence cooperation to counter future threats while supporting Nato’s capabilities in the north, Mr Hakkanen said.
“Today, we already discussed the use of 250 Nordic fighter aircrafts from the air forces as a unified force,” he said.
Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Denmark are planning to triple ammunition production and develop military mobility corridors in the Nordic region, he added.
Finland, which shares a 1,340km border with Russia, dropped decades of military non-alignment by joining Nato in 2023, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. AFP
