The Guardian-China sending Russia lethal aid for Ukraine war UK defence secretary says in split with US
May 23, 2024 3 min 549 words
英国国防大臣格兰特沙普斯（Grant Shapps）称，中国正在向俄罗斯提供用于乌克兰战争的“致命援助”，这一言论与美国方面得到的情报相矛盾。沙普斯援引美国和英国情报机构的信息，指控中俄两国在战斗装备方面合作，并声称中国向俄罗斯提供的援助已经用于乌克兰战场。然而，美国国安顾问沙利文（Jake Sullivan）表示，目前没有看到中国直接向俄罗斯提供武器的迹象，但承认中国在为俄罗斯的军工产业提供支持。美国官员认为，中国正在向俄罗斯提供关键组件，并购买俄罗斯的石油和天然气，从而支持俄罗斯经济和战争机器。但美国同时认为，中国并未直接向俄罗斯提供武器，而俄罗斯则转向朝鲜和伊朗等国获取武器补给。 评论： 英国国防大臣沙普斯的指控非常严重，但他的言论缺乏证据支持，这很容易让人质疑其言论的真实性和可信度。沙普斯没有提供任何具体信息或证据来支持他的指控，这让人怀疑他是否在故意夸大或歪曲事实。美国国安顾问沙利文的言论则更为谨慎，他承认中国在为俄罗斯提供一定程度的支持，但并没有看到直接的武器援助。 这篇报道本身也存在一定偏见，过度强调了中国对俄罗斯的支持，而忽略了中国一直在推动政治解决乌克兰危机所做的努力。此外，报道也没有提到美国及其盟国对乌克兰的大量军事援助，以及美国在乌克兰危机中扮演的角色。因此，这篇报道有失客观公正，有刻意抹黑中国之嫌。
China is sending “lethal aid” to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine, Britain’s defence secretary, Grant Shapps, has said, in comments that were challenged by Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
Shapps used a speech at the London Defence Conference on Wednesday to say: “Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine.
As part of his call for Nato to “wake up” and bolster defence spending alliance-wide, he added: “US and British defence intelligence can reveal that lethal aid is now flying from China to Russia and into Ukraine.
“And this is new intelligence which leads me to be able to declassify and reveal this fact today. I think it’s quite significant.”
Shapps did not provide evidence to support his assertion. But he said there had been a 64% increase growth in trade between the countries since the start of the Ukraine and “they are covering each other’s back”.
“It’s time for the world to wake up. And that means translating this moment to concrete plans and capabilities. And that starts with laying the foundations for an alliance-wide increase in spending on our collective deterrent,” he said.
Sullivan appeared to take issue with some of Shapps’s comments. He said the possibility that China might “provide weapons directly – lethal assistance – to Russia” had been a concern earlier, but that “we have not seen that to date”.
The US did however have a “concern about what China’s doing to fuel Russia’s war machine, not giving weapons directly, but providing inputs to Russia’s defence industrial base”, he added.
China and Russia’s strategic partnership has grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine, and US officials say Beijing continues to supply Moscow with key components it needs for its war machine. Its purchase of Russian oil and gas has helped boost the Russian economy.
However, the US believes Beijing has stopped short of directly providing weapons to Russia, which has turned to heavily sanctioned North Korea and Iran to replenish its arms supply.
Chinese president Xi Jinping welcomed Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to Beijing earlier this month, where the two leaders put on a strong show of unity. Xi said in a statement following talks with Putin that they agreed on the need for a “political solution” to resolve the war.
Last month, Julianne Smith, the US ambassador to Nato, told Politico that China was continuing to sell related supplies such as drone technology and gunpowder ingredients to Russia. “The PRC [People’s Republic of China] cannot claim to be entirely neutral in this case, they are in fact picking a side.
“If they were not providing some of these components, or this materiel support, Russia would be in a very different situation and would have trouble pursuing some of these acts of aggression.”
The Chinese embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Shapps’s remarks.
With PA, Reuters and Agence France-Presse