NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels for a second day will on Wednesday discuss China's seemingly ever-closer ties with Russia as highlighted by Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent visit to Moscow.

The talks, which will also look more generally at the impact on the Indo-Pacific region of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, come after Finland on Tuesday became the 31st member of the Western military alliance.

In light of the Asian focus, the talks are also being attended by representatives from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.

Sweden is also attending the gathering as an invitee, although it has yet formally to join the alliance amid Turkish opposition.

What has been said so far?

Early on Wednesday, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called on member states to increase their defense budgets, saying that "a minimum" had to be invested in defense in a "dangerous and contested world."

A day earlier, Stoltenberg had emphasized how strongly Asia and Europe were interconnected in matters of security and politics.

"What happens in Europe matters for the Indo-Pacific, for Asia. And what happens in Asia matters for Europe," he said.

"And the war in Ukraine really demonstrates that with all its global ramifications," he added.

He said allies were to discuss "China's growing alignment with Russia" following the Chinese president's Moscow visit.

That visit has fueled fears that Beijing might be considering supplying arms to Russia to help it in its attack on its neighbor. There are also concerns surrounding Russian support for China's possible aggressive intentions against Taiwan, which Beijing sees as an illegitimate breakaway province.

In remarks ahead of the summit, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the alliance needed to strengthen its relations with like-minded partners across the globe.

She said another NATO summit in Vilnius in July should welcome Sweden to the alliance.

Turkish veto

Both Finland and Sweden applied for membership amid the perceived threat of Russian aggression going beyond Ukraine, but Sweden has so far been prevented from joining by opposition from Turkey.

Turkey, which initially blocked the membership bids from both the Nordic countries, accuses Sweden in particular of fostering terrorism by hosting what it says are Kurdish terrorists on its soil.

The alliance's foreign ministers are also to discuss more ambitious defense spending and work toward making the current membership pledge of 2% of GDP a minimum.