China’s defense chief arrived in Belarus for a three-day visit to strengthen ties with the staunch Russian ally as NATO member states bolster border security with the nation.
(Bloomberg) — China’s defense chief arrived in Belarus for a three-day visit to strengthen ties with the staunch Russian ally as NATO member states bolster border security with the nation.
Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who is aiming to intensify military ties with nations across the globe, flew from Russia and was welcomed Wednesday in Minsk by his counterpart, Viktor Khrenin, according to state-owned news agency Belta.
The visit coincides with increased calls from Poland and the Baltic region to tighten border security, citing the presence of Russian mercenaries that have decamped to Belarus as well as renewed attempts by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to provoke tensions by sending migrants to the frontier.
Polish President Andrzej Duda told his Latvian counterpart, Edgars Rinkevics, that Warsaw was prepared to send military assistance to shore up its border with Belarus — and accused Russia of fomenting the chaos.
Lithuania meanwhile said it would temporarily close two border checkpoints from Friday, redirecting traffic to four other crossings.
“Poland and Latvia have the same problem — that the border is being attacked in a hybrid fashion by Belarus,” Duda told reporters in Warsaw alongside Rinkevics.
“We have no doubt that it’s in cooperation with Russia.”
Polish and Baltic officials will meet Aug. 28 in Warsaw to discuss joint action on the border, Lithuanian Internal Affairs Minister Agne Bilotaite said.
A potential closure is being discussed on a technical level, she said.
Dim View From Warsaw
A Polish official said Warsaw hopes the risk of disrupting trade with the EU will deter China from stirring up tensions over the border.
The border to Belarus is the passage point between a main freight line for goods flowing between China and the European Union.
Still, the official, who asked not to be identified, said that the visit is a sign that China is no longer in the background with respect to the war in Ukraine.
In Moscow, China’s defense chief vowed to intensify cooperation with counterparts in Europe, Africa and Latin America — while notably excluding the US, with which high-level military dialog has been suspended.
He called China’s ties with Russia a “good cooperation model.”
In Belarus, where Li was greeted on the tarmac with traditional bread and salt, he is set to meet top military officials and tour military facilities.
It’s the first visit by a Chinese defense minister to the country since 2018.
For his part, Lukashenko has been trying to balance his near-total dependence on Russia under Vladimir Putin with increasing ties with China.
He’s touted Belarus’s position between the EU and Russia even as he’s become increasingly isolated from the EU, particularly after his crackdown of protesters following the disputed 2020 election.
Any of Lukashenko’s overtures to the West were further overshadowed after his government allowed Putin to use Belarusian territory as a launchpad for the invasion of Ukraine last year.
–With assistance from Jing Li, Piotr Bujnicki, Milda Seputyte and Natalia Ojewska.
(Updates with Aug.
28 meeting, comments from Polish official, from sixth paragraph.)
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