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Secretary General Mark Rutte bluntly warned against Serbia’s growing defence cooperation with China while acknowledging Belgrade’s sovereign right to pursue it. Unlike most other countries from Eaestern Europe, Serbia is not a candidate for NATO membership.

“Let’s not be naive about China,” Rutte said on 24 November, in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). “We know that China cooperates with the Russians, North Korea, Iran… What is happening in the Indo-Pacific and what is happening in the Euro-Atlantic area is increasingly connected and intertwined.”

The partnership reached a new level in July, when Serbia and China conducted their first-ever joint military exercise, named Peace Defender 2025, in China’s Hebei Province. Over ten days, special forces from both countries trained together in drone tactics, firearms handling, tactical manoeuvres, and mountaineering, despite clear objections from Brussels and Washington.

Vučić has also overseen major acquisitions from China, including CH-92A drones in 2020, the FK-3 air defense system in 2022, and additional CH-95 drones. Rutte noted that NATO monitors these developments carefully, emphasizing that Serbia’s moves cannot be separated from China’s growing military influence.

The NATO chief revealed he maintains direct contact with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and values the dialogue through the Partnership for Peace program. Yet he explicitly distanced the Alliance from Belgrade’s approach: “In the end, I would really distance myself from what President Vučić is doing with China… There is a more pressing issue, and that is China itself.”

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