China Not an Enemy, but NATO Must Face Its Growing Military and Rise of Its Global Influence: NATO Chief
NATO does not consider China a “new enemy or adversary but its rise “is fundamentally changing the global balance of power and NATO “has to address the consequences” of it, especially to the security, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during the event on June 8 to launch NATO 2030 initiative, to make NATO capable to adapt to the changing world.
Stoltenberg was tasked by NATO leaders convened at the NATO Summit in London last year to lead the development of a proposal for strengthening NATOs political dimension. He appointed a group of ten experts to work on this project.
Among the existing trends and tensions that must be taken into consideration when shaping NATO to meet existing and emerging challenges the world faces, Stoltenberg listed military activities carried out by Russia, emboldening of ISIS and other terrorist groups, and disinformation and propaganda being disseminated by “both state and non-state actors.”
However, Chinas race “for economic and technological supremacy” poses “threats to open societies and individual freedoms“ and challenges “our values and our way of life,” Stoltenberg said.
China has already the second-largest defense budget in the world and Beijing continues to invest in “modern military capabilities” such as missiles that can reach all NATO Allies, gains influence in cyberspace, invests in critical infrastructure in different parts of the world, tightens its cooperation with Russia, Stoltenberg said.
Adapting to Changing World
Forging NATO as a stronger political Alliance is necessary to be able to respond to these challenges, Stoltenberg said. In addition, NATO needs to expand its cooperation with non-NATO countries like partners in the Asia Pacific region, as well as “like-minded countries like Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand,” he said.
Stoltenberg stressed the importance of close cooperation with these countries to “defend the global rules and institutions that have kept us safe for decades, to set norms and standards in space and in cyberspace, on new technologies and global arms controlRead More – Source
