NATO Chief Says China Military Expansion ‘Staggering’

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte answers questions from reporters after an inspection of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Yokosuka Base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture on April 8, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

China’s expansion of its armed forces is “staggering,” NATO’s chief said on a visit to Japan beginning Tuesday aimed at “projecting” the alliance’s power in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Let us not be naive about China,” secretary general Mark Rutte told the Japan Times.

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