Challenges for Allies

challenges for allies China remains a 'challenge' for NATO allies

China remains a 'challenge' for NATO allies, as defined at the summit of the alliance in Madrid, along with the situation in Ukraine. The organization is worried about China beefing up its military, and its cooperation with Russia, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after a ministerial meeting of the alliance hosted by Romania. Secretary Blinken explained that the concerning issues about China are use of disinformation, fast and opaque military ascension, and cooperation with Russia. The long term challenges that Beijing provides for the interests, values, and security for the allies had a special place at the talks held in Bucharest. Here is what NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: 

"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.”




In Bucharest, NATO ministers also talked about the expansion of the organization by integrating Sweden and Finland, along with terrorism, the gravest asymmetric threat, and about enhancing custom aid for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, and the Republic of Moldova, which are alliance partners. They also discussed consolidating capabilities, reforms, and training in improving security and defense institutions for these countries. However, the elephant in the room at the meeting was the war that Russia carries out in Ukraine, with all its consequences. This late November NATO meeting noted that Ukraine has made significant progress in the face of Russian invasion, but that Russia must not be underestimated, as its missiles continue to strike cities, civilians, and critical infrastructure in Ukraine. Secretary Stoltenberg emphasized that NATO must make sure that Ukraine is victorious against Russia, and that the most urgent task is to make sure that Ukraine will triumph as a sovereing, democratic, and independent nation in Europe. He explained that in order to achieve that, there must be constant and large scale military, financial, and humanitarian support, which is what is going on now. In Bucharest, the allies announced significant contributions to the NATO comprehensive assistance package, which offers Ukraine less-than-lethal aid, including fuel and generators. This aid is extremely important, since the end of the war is nowhere in sight. We asked an expert if we can anticipate what Russia's objective is long term. Providing the answer for Radio Romania was Professor Dan Dungaciu, director of the Romanian Academy Institute for Political Science and International Relations. He said that Moscow is, first and foremost, interested for any negotiations to happen while Russia is still in the field:

"The moment negotiations start and Russian troops are on Ukraine's territory, irrespective of the geography of the presence, which is now at 15% of territory, then Russia is at an advantage. It is at an advantage for two reasons. One: it is very capable in carrying out negotiations, trying to exonerate the occupier and placing themselves in a negotiation position as if they were neutral towards, and the equal of, Ukraine. Russia has a lot of practice in this, it did the same with Georgia, with Transnistria, they simply ignored their status as an occupier and simply acted as a player in the negotiations. And two: this would be convenient for Russia, because there is a psychological change in the Russian Federation, including among the population. This explains to some extent the great amount of acceptance that Putin still enjoys at home. He spread the message in the Russian Federation across the population that this war is with the West, meaning the EU, NATO, and the US. The moment Russia alleges that they are fighting the West, the status of victory or defeat changes radically. It no longer matters what the roadmap was for the so-called 'special operation'. There is no longer talk of Russia and Ukraine, even the term special operation is no longer used much. Now it is all about the fight with the West, and victory for the Russian Federation no longer means reaching their initial war aims, it simply means resistance."



Dan Dungaciu explained that if the Russian Federation is not defeated in Ukraine, this matter can be used by the Kremlin, by President Putin, by the state authorities, in the dialog with the population. They can claim that the entire West, in alliance with Ukraine, was incapable of defeating them. 




www.rri.ro
Publicat: 2022-12-08 19:04:00
Vizualizari: 827
TiparesteTipareste