WASHINGTON-
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that if Russia succeeds in Ukraine, it will encourage China to use military force to expand territory in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We cannot live in a world like this,” Austin told U.S. troops at a military base in eastern Poland after a surprise visit to kyiv a day earlier.
“If you’re another autocrat, say China, and you want to take over more land and territory, and you see what happened in Ukraine without anyone questioning it, then you’re going to feel pretty good,” Austin said.
Austin also warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue his attempts to seize sovereign democracies in Eastern Europe if he is not stopped in Ukraine.
“Putin won’t stop if he takes Ukraine,” Austin said. “After that, he will go to the Baltics, and then you and your comrades will find yourself on the front line, fighting against Putin, whom we should have stopped or Ukraine could have stopped earlier.”
During his visit to the Polish base, Austin held talks with Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.
The officials asked not to specify which base they were talking about, as it plays an important role in providing US and Western military assistance to Ukraine.
