English Translation:
British Defence Minister Grant Shapps expressed deep concerns on Sunday (May 19th) regarding the recent strengthening of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, as it poses a threat to Western democracies.
Shapps, in an interview with Sky News, said, “I am deeply concerned about this because remember, these are two countries that do not believe in democracy.”
“They are trying to spread their system to other parts of the world, and we must open our eyes to see clearly that this is a direct threat to our way of life,” he said. “China (the CCP) does not share our values of freedom and democracy; their sole purpose is to keep the Communist Party in power.”
“If we cherish our freedom and democracy, then we must pay attention to them (China and Russia) coming together—not just Russia’s connections with Iran, using Iranian Shahed drones, and ties with North Korea, buying weapons from North Korea,” he said.
“It is not a good thing for those of us who love democracy,” he added.
Discussing the conflict in Ukraine, Shapps stated that other European countries need to provide more assistance. Ukrainian President Zelensky is busy strengthening defenses to counter Russia’s renewed attacks in the northeast of Ukraine.
“We are in a battle for the survival of the way the world order operates,” Shapps said. “We must bravely confront it.”
Russian President Putin visited Beijing on May 16th and met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. China and Russia have declared they will deepen their “new era” partnership and expressed anti-Western remarks in a joint statement.
Britain’s relations with China and Russia are deteriorating due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as spy activities. Earlier this month, the UK expelled a senior Russian envoy and imposed new restrictions on Russian diplomats to counter Russian spy activities.
On May 14th, the British Foreign Ministry summoned the Chinese Ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, emphasizing that Chinese espionage and cyber attacks on British soil are unacceptable. The previous day, three men were charged in the UK for collecting information for the Hong Kong intelligence agency and engaging in foreign interference activities in the UK.