Finnish Defense Minister: China and India are funding Russia’s war.
Hakanen told AFP on Wednesday that Russian-Chinese cooperation has “gone to the point where China is now largely financing Russia’s war budget.”
He added that Russia cannot wage a war for very long with its own resources. India is also financing the war in other ways, but China is doing it quite deliberately.
The Finnish defence minister claimed that China is providing Russia with military components. They have cooperated in the defence industry, and are conducting joint military exercises and other extensive activities in the Arctic, Indo-Pacific, and Europe.
He described these issues as a big but manageable challenge for NATO.
The Finnish defence minister said that the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark) are increasing their defence cooperation to counter future threats and support the expansion of NATO capabilities in the region.
He stated that Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark plan to triple their ammunition production and expand military movement corridors in the Nordic region.
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia and abandoned its military neutrality stance and joined NATO after Moscow invaded Ukraine.