China
\nremains a ‘challenge’ for NATO allies, as defined at the summit of
\nthe alliance in Madrid, along with the situation in Ukraine. The
\norganization is worried about China beefing up its military, and its
\ncooperation with Russia, according to US Secretary of State Antony
\nBlinken, after a ministerial meeting of the alliance hosted by
\nRomania. Secretary Blinken explained that the concerning issues about
\nChina are use of disinformation, fast and opaque military ascension,
\nand cooperation with Russia. The long term challenges that Beijing
\nprovides for the interests, values, and security for the allies had a
\nspecial place at the talks held in Bucharest. Here is what NATO
\nSecretary General Jens Stoltenberg said:
\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
NATO is an alliance of Europe and North America, but the challenges we face are global. We must adress them together in NATO. We do not see China as an adversary; we will continue to engage with China when it is in our interest. Not least to convey our united position on Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. Ministers considered China’s ambitious military developments, its technological advances, and its growing cyber and hybrid activities. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated our dangerous dependency on Russian gas. This should also lead us to assess our dependency on other authoritarian regimes, not least China, for our supply chains, technology, or infrastructure. We will continue, of course, to trade and engage economically with China, but we have to be aware of our dependencies, reduce our vulnerabilities, and manage the risks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In
\nBucharest, NATO ministers also talked about the expansion of the
\norganization by integrating Sweden and Finland, along with terrorism,
\nthe gravest asymmetric threat, and about enhancing custom aid for
\nBosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, and the Republic of Moldova, which are
\nalliance partners. They also discussed consolidating capabilities,
\nreforms, and training in improving security and defense institutions
\nfor these countries. However, the elephant in the room at the meeting
\nwas the war that Russia carries out in Ukraine, with all its
\nconsequences. This late November NATO meeting noted that Ukraine has
\nmade significant progress in the face of Russian invasion, but that
\nRussia must not be underestimated, as its missiles continue to strike
\ncities, civilians, and critical infrastructure in Ukraine. Secretary
\nStoltenberg emphasized that NATO must make sure that Ukraine is
\nvictorious against Russia, and that the most urgent task is to make
\nsure that Ukraine will triumph as a sovereing, democratic, and
\nindependent nation in Europe. He explained that in order to achieve
\nthat, there must be constant and large scale military, financial, and
\nhumanitarian support, which is what is going on now. In Bucharest,
\nthe allies announced significant contributions to the NATO
\ncomprehensive assistance package, which offers Ukraine
\nless-than-lethal aid, including fuel and generators. This aid is
\nextremely important, since the end of the war is nowhere in sight. We
\nasked an expert if we can anticipate what Russia’s objective is long
\nterm. Providing the answer for Radio Romania was Professor Dan
\nDungaciu, director of the Romanian Academy Institute for Political
\nScience and International Relations. He said that Moscow is, first
\nand foremost, interested for any negotiations to happen while Russia
\nis still in the field:
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nmoment negotiations start and Russian troops are on Ukraine’s
\nterritory, irrespective of the geography of the presence, which is
\nnow at 15% of territory, then Russia is at an advantage. It is at an
\nadvantage for two reasons. One: it is very capable in carrying out
\nnegotiations, trying to exonerate the occupier and placing themselves
\nin a negotiation position as if they were neutral towards, and the
\nequal of, Ukraine. Russia has a lot of practice in this, it did the
\nsame with Georgia, with Transnistria, they simply ignored their
\nstatus as an occupier and simply acted as a player in the
\nnegotiations. And two: this would be convenient for Russia, because
\nthere is a psychological change in the Russian Federation, including
\namong the population. This explains to some extent the great amount
\nof acceptance that Putin still enjoys at home. He spread the message
\nin the Russian Federation across the population that this war is with
\nthe West, meaning the EU, NATO, and the US. The moment Russia alleges
\nthat they are fighting the West, the status of victory or defeat
\nchanges radically. It no longer matters what the roadmap was for the
\nso-called ‘special operation’. There is no longer talk of Russia and
\nUkraine, even the term special operation is no longer used much. Now
\nit is all about the fight with the West, and victory for the Russian
\nFederation no longer means reaching their initial war aims, it
\nsimply means resistance.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dan
\nDungaciu explained that if the Russian Federation is not defeated in
\nUkraine, this matter can be used by the Kremlin, by President Putin,
\nby the state authorities, in the dialog with the population. They can
\nclaim that the entire West, in alliance with Ukraine, was incapable
\nof defeating them.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China remains a ‘challenge’ for NATO allies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":156784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43939],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-156783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-future-starts-today"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n