British defence minister says China plans to provide Russia with ‘lethal aid’ for Ukraine war
- Defence chief Grant Shapps tells military conference US and British intelligence have proof ‘Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine’
- Statement is first time a European power has accused China of crossing what has been repeatedly described in Brussels as a ‘red line’ in its relations with Beijing
Britain has evidence that China is planning to provide Russia with “lethal aid” to use in its war in Ukraine, the UK defence secretary said on Wednesday.
According to several media accounts, Grant Shapps told the London Defence Conference that US and British military intelligence had “evidence Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine”.
“Lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine,” which he called “a significant development”.
It marks the first time a European power has accused China of crossing what has been repeatedly described in Brussels as a “red line” in its relations with Beijing, and appears to have prompted US President Joe Biden’s top security adviser to ask for clarification.
The West has previously sounded the alarm about the increased intensity of Sino-Russian trade in goods which have dual civilian and military goods. Both Britain and the European Union have added Chinese companies to blacklists of firms accused of circumventing Western sanctions against Moscow.
But the suggestion by Shapps that China would provide Russia with lethal weapons has the potential to further upend Beijing’s ties with Europe at an already fragile moment.