NATO must think harder about how to handle China and its military rise, although Russia would remain its main adversary during this decade, a report on reforming the Atlantic alliance published yesterday said.
NATO 2030, prepared by a group of so-called “wise persons” and containing 138 proposals, comes amid growing doubts about the purpose and relevance of an alliance branded last year by French President Emmanuel Macron as “brain dead.”
“China is no longer the benign trading partner that the West had hoped for. It is the rising power of our century and NATO must adapt,” said one NATO diplomat who had seen the report prior to its publication, pointing to Chinese activity in the Arctic and Africa and to its heavy investments in European infrastructure.
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Part of NATO’s response should be maintaining a technological advantage over China, protecting computer networks and infrastructure, the diplomat said, citing the report, although not all recommendations would be adopted.
The 30-member alliance could also forge closer ties with non-NATO countries such as Australia and focus more on deterrence in space, where China is developing assets, the report said.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday said that China’s rise posed “important challenges to our security.”
“China is investing massively in new weapons. It is coming closer to us, from the Arctic to Africa. China does not share our values ... and tries to intimidate other countries,” he told a news conference in Brussels, urging allies to come together on the issue.
NATO should consider including China in NATO’s official master strategy document, its “Strategic Concept,” diplomats cited the report as saying, although it stopped short of declaring the country an adversary.
In other recommendations, the report suggested that NATO foreign ministers meet more regularly and called for a strengthening of the secretary-general’s role as an international mediator.
The report was scheduled to be discussed by NATO foreign ministers yesterday before being presented to the alliance’s heads of state and government next year.
Tensions over NATO’s ability to act remain, from anger over Turkey’s decision to buy a Russian weapons system to US doubts over Europe’s commitment to its own defense, to US President Donald Trump’s call for it to do more in the Middle East.
However, Eastern European allies, fearful of Russia since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, are concerned about shifting too many resources away from NATO’s core task of defending Europe.
CHINESE REACTION
In Beijing yesterday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said China hoped NATO would adopt the correct outlook toward the country.
She told a regular briefing at the ministry that China stood ready to engage in dialogue with the alliance.
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