China warns of 'nuclear sword' dangling over world
China's warning of a potential World War III erupting from the Russia-Ukraine war should be taken seriously, according to one defence expert.
The United Nations Security Council was told by China's representative Geng Shuang that the Kremlin's deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus was a major escalation of the conflict that risked a wider war.
He told the council last Friday that nuclear armaments were "the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads".
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Russia announced it will deploy tactical nuclear weapons to neighbouring Ukraine. AP
Security analyst Malcolm Davis, of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told Today this morning the Chinese warning was aimed at Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I think it is a concern. We're in the most dangerous period in really human history since the end of the Cold War," Davis said.
"We have the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"So they seem to be content to drive up the tensions and the risk is that at some point, Putin, in facing defeat in Ukraine, could actually think about using them.
"So I think the Chinese warning is directed mainly at Moscow, basically saying to Putin don't even try to think about."
Last month, Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, a warning to the West as it steps up military support for Ukraine.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping toast during their dinner at The Palace of the Facets, a building in the Kremlin on March 21, 2023. AP
Belarus shares borders with three NATO members — Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — and Russia used its territory as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Geng did not name Russia directly but called for the "withdrawal of nuclear weapons deployed abroad".
Davis said NATO and Western nations such as Australia face a major balancing act in supplying military aid to Ukraine without pushing Putin into a corner in which he could consider deploying nuclear weapons.
"It's threading that strategic needle of between victory for Ukraine and avoiding nuclear war that is the real challenge," he said.
"Because the real danger is that if Putin is facing defeat, that he could think about using nuclear weapons."
Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Putin in Moscow for three days of talks, with the Ukraine war figuring largely.
China has refused to condemn the war and instead claimed Moscow was provoked into invading Ukraine.
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