At the NATO 75th-anniversary summit hosted by US President Biden, leaders from 32 NATO countries and a range of partner countries gathered in Washington starting from July 9th for a series of events and meetings celebrating the alliance’s establishment. The focus of the summit will be on the war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Ukraine’s path to joining NATO. However, with the increasingly prominent security threats posed by Communist China in the Indo-Pacific region and globally, countering the Chinese Communist Party’s threats will also be a key topic of concern for NATO. This will further strengthen the global anti-CCP alliance formed under the leadership of the United States alongside NATO’s Indo-Pacific partner countries.
Established in 1949 after World War II, NATO aimed to prevent Soviet aggression in Europe. Throughout the Cold War era, NATO was part of the “bipolar world” with the US and the Soviet Union at its helm. However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, NATO entered a “unipolar world” and at one point considered post-Soviet Russia as a potential ally.
In 2014, NATO ceased its “partnership” with Russia following Russia’s invasion and occupation of Crimea peninsula in Ukraine. In 2017, following the trade war initiated by former US President Trump against the CCP’s economic aggression, NATO at the London summit for the first time regarded Communist China as a “challenge to be collectively addressed” by the alliance.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, 2022, marked a significant warning and turning point for NATO. In the updated 2022 version of the NATO Strategy released that year, NATO, in addition to designating Russia as a “primary adversary,” also identified Communist China as a “strategic challenge” for the alliance, highlighting China’s geopolitical challenges.
At the Madrid summit that same year, leaders from the Indo-Pacific region, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, were invited to attend a NATO summit for the first time. NATO leaders during the summit stated that the advancing strategic partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation, intending to further weaken the rules-based international order, diverges from NATO’s values and interests.
According to Andrew Latham, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy and a resident researcher at Defense Priorities in Washington DC, we have entered a new geopolitical era defined fundamentally by multipolarity. The rise of China, the ambitions of Russia, the assertiveness of India, and the rise of other regional powers have created a more complex, chaotic, and competitive security environment.
After Lithuania allowed Taiwan to establish a “Taiwanese Representative Office” in the country, it faced diplomatic threats and economic retaliation from the Chinese Communist Party, indicating that the CCP threat was encroaching on Europe, which raised concerns for NATO.
During the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2023, NATO leaders released a statement condemning the open ambitions and coercive policies of the People’s Republic of China, challenging NATO’s interests, security, and values.
As NATO members arrive in Washington DC for the summit, President Biden expressed in an interview that their allies are seeking US leadership, emphasizing the need to build an alliance of countries from around the world to address challenges from China, Russia, and global events.
With the increasingly aggressive ambitions displayed by the CCP and its attempts to challenge the US-led world order, NATO is expected to convey a stronger stance on the issue of the CCP threat at the Washington DC summit than ever before.
In a briefing call regarding the NATO summit on July 5th, a senior US government official stated that “strong language” is expected to be used to discuss how to address the CCP’s support for Russia, as this support not only fuels Russia’s war on Ukraine but also poses a long-term challenge to European security, which NATO’s allies are increasingly recognizing.
The deepening relationship between the CCP and Russia has raised concerns for NATO, with US and NATO officials pointing out that the CCP’s export of dual-use military products to Russia enables Russia to sustain its aggression in Ukraine. Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing NATO Secretary-General, mentioned during his visit to the US in June that Beijing is sharing high-end technology with Moscow, such as semiconductors and other dual-use products, bolstering Russian defense capabilities and evading sanctions and export control impacts.
Leaders from NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, will continue to participate in the NATO summit, standing together with NATO to counter the provocations of the CCP in the Indo-Pacific region.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated during a speech at the US Congress in April, “Today’s Ukraine could be tomorrow’s East Asia.”
The CCP claims sovereignty over all the waters of the South China Sea and Taiwan. Given that the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait are crucial global trade routes, NATO members rely on trade flowing through the region, thus emphasizing the importance of maintaining stable sea lanes and protecting Taiwan.
Last month, when the Philippine military attempted to deliver supplies to the Second Thomas Shoal within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, Chinese maritime militia vessels rammed and boarded Philippine Navy rubber boats, leading to several injuries in one of the most intense incidents between the two countries in years.
On July 8th, the Philippines signed a defense agreement with Japan allowing both countries to deploy troops on each other’s territories. The United States also strengthened its military relationship with the Philippines.
NATO comprises 35 partner countries, and with the 32 member countries, roughly 2 billion people, representing a quarter of the world’s population. Experts suggest that this partnership can unite free world countries against authoritarian regimes.
Norwegian Navy Rear Admiral Gunnstein Bruåsdal, Deputy Chief of Staff at the European Allied Command Operations, stated at the NATO annual Military Strategic Partnerships Conference in April that becoming a NATO cooperation partner is open to “any country that wishes to share its core values.”
The partnership program, established in 1994 based on Article 10 of the NATO Founding Treaty, serves as an open policy for military and security cooperation. While some countries join the partnership with the intention of becoming NATO members, many join for other purposes.
David Fried, a distinguished researcher at the Weiser Family of the Atlantic Council and former US Ambassador to Poland, explained in an interview with NDIA’s Defense Magazine that partnerships imply “the foundations for military and security cooperation” to allow these countries’ militaries to interact and engage with NATO and other countries.
Fried noted that partnerships “unite free world countries in an era of growing authoritarian cooperation,” highlighting the importance of cooperation in facing common security challenges against Russia and Iran-driven worlds. Though NATO is not obligated to protect South Korea from CCP aggression, the partnership allows joint efforts to address shared security challenges.
Just like NATO is not obligated to protect South Korea from CCP aggression, NATO also does not have an obligation to protect partner Ukraine from Russia’s unwarranted invasion. However, Ukraine’s history and its partnership with NATO make it easier for NATO to support Ukraine as it is easier to understand tactics and procedures in supporting them, as noted by Bruåsdal.
At the Military Strategic Partnerships Conference, it was announced that NATO aims to enhance partner participation to the maximum by establishing a new framework called “NATO Enhanced Partner Capacity.” This new framework will create a pool of partner countries’ military capabilities that can contribute to the alliance without being bound by NATO’s terms.
Canadian Army Colonel Darcy Wright, a senior officer at the Partnerships Directorate of the European Allied Command Operations, mentioned that this process does not require partner countries to make specific commitments, providing “great flexibility.” This model allows partner countries to showcase their strengths, benefiting both the partners and NATO.
This is particularly crucial for the Indo-Pacific region as China has consistently threatened to forcibly occupy Taiwan. This highlights the increasing importance of NATO’s partnerships in the region. Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand are NATO’s four partner countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Lieutenant James Barnes of the New Zealand Navy, serving as the Belgian and French Military Attaché, emphasized in an interview with Defense Magazine that NATO is recognizing that “the entire world is interconnected.” Therefore, dialogues with Pacific nations are essential as actions in the Pacific region are relevant.
Bruåsdal also mentioned that NATO’s interest in the Indo-Pacific region should be “quite apparent.” He stressed that actions in the Suez Canal, Panama Canal, the Malacca Strait, and the Taiwan Strait pose challenges, and whether liked or not, events in the Indo-Pacific region affect the US and Europe.
On July 1st, when discussing the continuous invitation of Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand to attend the NATO summit for the third consecutive year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted that this demonstrates the increasing awareness among NATO’s European and Asia-Pacific partner countries that security challenges in both regions are increasingly merging, emphasizing the deliberate policy of breaking barriers between European and Asian alliances.
David Sacks, an Asia Policy Researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations, stated in an interview with Voice of America that alliances between Indo-Pacific and European countries are deepening through NATO, showcasing the emergence of an interconnected “strategic space” between Asia-Pacific and Europe.
He explained, “NATO members are realizing that events in the Asia-Pacific region relate to European security and impact European security. For instance, if China launches a military invasion of Taiwan, it should expect a response from Europe.”