MARK Rutte supported the disastrous US invasion of Iraq based on sheer lies back in 2003 as a state secretary in the Netherlands. Otherwise, he looked relatively normal as Dutch prime minister for 14 years, even riding his bike when he left his job last year in The Hague.
I’ve heard similar talks about Jens Stoltenberg, the former Nato secretary general, from some Norwegian officials and scholars when Stoltenberg served in the government in Oslo.
However, Stoltenberg spent 10 years as Nato chief, warmongering and fearmongering about China. Now Rutte, who succeeded him last October, has closely followed suit. The only explanation to this is that it is simply part of the job description for the Nato secretary general.
Rutte used his first trip to Japan last week as Nato secretary general to spread the “China threat” theory in a bid to destabilise the East Asia region that has been more peaceful than other parts of the world for decades.
The Trump admin has pledged a record $1trn defence budget proposal, an increase from the $892 billion funding allocated by the US Congress
He accused China of “supporting Russia’s efforts”, saying “China is building up its armed forces, including its navy, at a rapid pace.” But such lies can hardly fool anyone today. China has urged for ceasefire and dialogue between Russia and Ukraine right after the outbreak of the conflict in February 2022. China published its position document on the political settlement of the crisis in February 2023 and sent its special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, on shuttle diplomacy in a bid to end the crisis.
It is precisely Nato and the United States which have blocked any attempt for ceasefire and dialogue and added fuel to the fire to prolong the conflict, now in its third year.
China has been modernising its national defense, but its defense budget is less than two percent of the GDP, the threshold set for 32 Nato member states. Besides, Nato has been pushing its member states to spend three percent and even five percent of their GDP on defense as urged by the US, which dictates both Nato and Rutte.
Rutte will never dare to challenge the US military’s monstrous spending, which exceeds the combined military spending of the next 10 countries. What’s more, US President Donald Trump and his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged a record $1 trillion defence budget proposal, an increase from the $892 billion funding allocated by the US Congress for national defence programmes this year.
Comparatively, China’s defence budget for 2025 is $246 billion, only 28pc of that of the US.
And it is the US which has more than 800 military bases around the world, including many surrounding and threatening China.
Rutte should know all these hard facts well but he chooses to turn a blind eye by strictly following Washington’s agenda.
When asked at a recent news conference about the US president not ruling out the use of force to take Greenland, Rutte deflected the question by instead talking about “Chinese using the sea lanes coming up” in the Arctic and Russia “rearming and arming parts of the Arctic”.
It is truly shameful for Rutte, as a European, to have such a response when both Greenland and Denmark are being blatantly threatened by the US. Rutte’s real purpose is clear. By fearmongering about China, he could make a stronger argument for Nato members to boost their military spending, despite significant domestic resistance among many member states. It is also a bid to justify Nato’s meddling and potential expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.
Rutte may dream of the days when European colonisers could easily bully countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America. But China, and many others, have learned the painful lessons and will never be bullied again, not even by Nato.
Nato is a war machine and a threat to world peace despite its repeated claims of being a defense alliance. China, on the other hand, has a much better record of peace compared to Nato, the US and all other major countries.—
Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2025
