On July 9th, during the first NATO Defense Industry Forum, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that NATO and its partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, will initiate four joint projects to deepen cooperation.
Sullivan explained that these projects will focus on Ukraine, artificial intelligence, misinformation, and cybersecurity issues. The forum, hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce, took place in Washington during the NATO summit.
Each initiative may vary, but the main goal remains the same: to utilize the unique strengths of strong democratic countries to address common global challenges. Sullivan emphasized that events in Europe can impact the Indo-Pacific region, and vice versa.
A key focus of this year’s NATO summit is to combine the capabilities of democratic countries to address challenges posed by authoritarian states like China, Russia, and North Korea. The summit coincides with the 75th anniversary of the founding of NATO, with participants highlighting the evolving security landscape.
US Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks mentioned the strategic competition posed by China and others, highlighting the need for collaboration among democratic allies and partners. She emphasized the crucial moment the transatlantic defense industrial base is facing in countering expanding threats.
Hicks stressed the importance of recruiting NATO allies and Indo-Pacific partners like Australia, Japan, and South Korea to produce weapons together, cooperate in ship and aircraft maintenance, and benefit mutually as a global “arsenal of democracy.”
Sullivan announced that all 32 NATO member countries will commit in the coming days to enhance their defense industrial capabilities, marking the first joint action of its kind in NATO history. He emphasized that these individual commitments are as vital to collective security as defense spending commitments.
Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underlined the increasing number of NATO member countries crossing the 2% threshold of defense spending relative to GDP. He stated that while a decade ago, meeting the 2% goal was seen as a challenge, it has now become the baseline for defense expenditure.
Through new defense industry commitments, allies will not only increase defense spending but also achieve efficiency through “pooling more resources to achieve economies of scale.” Stoltenberg stressed the importance of integration, which involves using common standards to develop more interoperable systems.
He pointed out the lack of interoperability between Dutch and German forces, citing the inability to share ammunition as a critical issue that needs serious attention. Stoltenberg announced that discussions on defense industry cooperation will take place with Indo-Pacific partners on Thursday, focusing on enhancing defense industrial capabilities with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea, all of which are developed defense industrial nations.
As allies, there is an agreement to strengthen cooperation with these countries in the development of defense industrial capabilities.