In an effort to stay relevant, NATO is looking towards Asia to join the US in countering China in the region. During Friday’s Munich Security Conference, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made it clear that Beijing is a top priority of the alliance.
“The rise of China is a defining issue for the transatlantic community.
With potential consequences for our security, our prosperity and our way of life,” Stoltenberg said. “This is why NATO should deepen our relationships with close partners, like Australia and Japan, and forge new ones around the world.”
At the end of 2020, NATO released a report that called for the alliance to increase its focus on China. The report said NATO should build stronger relationships with countries in Asia, like Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, what it calls “like-minded” countries.
The report says NATO should consider forming a partnership with India, a country the US has been stepping up military cooperation with. The US, India, Japan, and Australia form the informal alliance, or dialogue, known as the Quad, a group NATO is keen to work with. The Quad is seen as a possible foundation for a NATO-style military alliance in Asia.
President Biden also spoke at the Munich Conference and made similar remarks regarding China. “You know, we must prepare together for a long-term strategic competition with China,” he said. “How the United States, Europe, and Asia work together to secure the peace and defend our shared values and advance our prosperity across the Pacific will be among the most consequential efforts we undertake.”
China has a freight train system leading to every national capitol in Europe and it owns the harbor of Athens as a result of European and US social failure. Pentagonians occupy the US and are bankrupting it.
US propaganda whips hatred into a frenzy so it can tax society to buy weapons to contain China from the Pacific. This plan ignores even Earth’s geography. Europe and China are part of a single continent called Eurasia that cannot be separated from itself no matter how much Hollywood propaganda glorifies hatred and war.
The blindness is amazing — unless it is deliberate. For years, China and almost all East and South-East European countries have been meeting regularly each year, to review existing joint projects and plan new ones. Fast rail now links Belgrade to Budapest. New bridges, modernized mines, steel mills. New roads. US may talk about wanting Georgia to join NATO — but it is China that built a critical rail linking Baku in Azerbaijan, to Tbilisi in Georgia, and Karst in Turkey. Europe is a small appendix to the giant Eurasian continent. Kazakhstan alone is a size of Europe.
Now, since I do not believe that none of this has been noticed, one must believe that in the absence of a better response, or a better plan, take a page from Obama years. Declare that China is the problem, never examine what went wrong, denounce mistaken strategies and politically punish those that pushed the nation into following wrong strategies. But it will never happen, as it is not the American way.
Instead, we dig our ditch deeper. Just intimidating, blustering, trying to get Europe and Asia to pressure China. Perhaps buying time — but for what?
With little vision, and even less control over economic development — the Government is falling back on the only business it can manage: the business of war.
This time the the candidate war theater is not a sacrificial lamb in Balkans — as Europe is needed by US side, and need no aggravation. I doubt very much that South China Sea will be the target. There are too many ASEAN countries that are on razor’s edge over US pressures. Their economies are tied to China, and will not engage in war on behalf of US. They may have disagreements over EEZ, but not on other fronts.
The candidate region is Indian Ocean — from Iran and Pakistan, along Arab Gulf states, to the hotspot of Al-Mandeb Straits, then to East Africa Indian Ocean shores of Somalia and Kenya. China is due to lay cable from Pakistan to East Africa, then on to Europe, The goal is to give Africa connectivity to both Asia and Europe. US is focusing on Bab Al-Mandeb for years. The REAL reason for Yemen war. The war started out simple — US ally, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayaf, started the war with the objective to force unity between North and South Yemen, giving US controlling influence over both coasts of Al-Mandeb Straits. Then MBN was deposed over failed policies that saw funding and indoctrination of Sunni Islamic fundamentalism. With the crash of pro-American “rebel” armies in Syria and Iraq, the new Crown Prince MBS, dismantled the Wahhabi sponsored militants, from Syrian “rebels” to ISIS. This fundamentally eliminated ostensible military presence to fight ISIS. MBS also changed the purpose of Yemen war. The objective is for KSA to keep united Yemen under its control, to secure Straits, KSA no longer believed that US is reliable, and just like under Trump it turned on ISIS Caliphate, region between Syria and Iraq, same would happen if KSA does not control Straits. KSA is in that supported by Sudan and Egypt.
So, US wants “out” of the war? Why was US supporting UAE to get in Yemen war, and take over secessionist South? This is to take the key Southern coast away from KSA. But — with KSA not accepting secession, and promoting the cause of “legitimate” government, war will continue until Saudis get concessions from US.
So, the cards dealt to KSA are bad — it must beat North into complying with unitary state, for as long as South stays under UAE control. UAE pulled out partially, not enough.
So, along with Iran — this us combustible area, Not being in Russia or China borders — it will be OK for as ling as Iran stays out. Russia got a naval base in Port Sudan on Red Sea for servicing their nuclear submarines. One more message that Straits must stay open. With Turkey having more military in Iraq then US, and large presence in Qatar — Iran’s ally is being positioned to be right next to US airbase in Doha,
But US has no reliable ally in the region.
Not even India, UAE and Bahrain. That is all.
But conflict is brewing, and US has a weak hand. Will we stumble into conflict that will bring no benefits?
Very interesting and informative. Thank you.
I never know if those are Stoltenberg’s words or the puppet master’s who is controlling the strings.
It’s the latter, I’m sure. He couldn’t be that stupid on his own.
Stupid and barbaric.
Military power comes from economic power. The US is sinking economically, while China is rapidly rising. In a few years the US will no longer be able to afford its military dominance, and China will be militarily superior and growing ever moreso.
Rather than force China to pursue military dominance out of defensive necessity, now would be the moment to avoid that inevitability by negotiating global disarmament.
However, the inability of the fading hegemon to accept the end of their dominance, will I suspect make them rage and deny the inevitable and insist on continuing to loot and impoverish and further weaken the country in a futile effort to stay on top.
When after the breakup of the Soviet Union NATO expanded rather than disband, our grandchildren’s futures were diminished.
Now the Democrats are in power we see no change in America’s policy towards China. Everything is treated like war. Meet the new boss, just like the old boss. There is only one political party in America, the War Party.
If I were a politician serving in the government of a NATO member I would seriously question WTF NATO is doing. Supposedly, NATO was to protect small European countries from the Soviet Union and make war less likely.
Now, being in NATO makes war with Russia MORE likely.
Plus, European countries are now forced to fight Israel’s enemies in the Middle East and to top it all off, the Americans now want to drag European countries into a war with CHINA!
Why in hell would Europeans want to lose blood and treasure helping America futilely try to contain China in western Pacific?
I would suggest all countries in NATO leave before the US gets everyone in NATO dragged into wars with Russia, Iran and China.
re: Stoltenberg says the Rise of China Is a Defining Issue and NATO released a report last year that called for the alliance to put more focus on China by partnering with Asian countries
The problem is that there are no significant Asian countries that will partner with the West. Pompeo found this out on his last failure tour of Asia. China is the driving force for ASEAN, which the US will not break. The recently signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership enables China to rule the economic roost in Asia, investing big money for high profits. While the pandemic was killing Western economies in the first five months of 2020, trade between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc and the massive Chinese market reached $240 billion, up 4.2% over the same period of 2019. China’s trade with the block equals about 15% of its total worldwide. China is going gangbusters now, buying and selling.
China gets criticized by the US for not having alliances like the US has in the West, so countries ought to go with the USA in Asia. Western partners in Asia? How about Japan, a country widely disliked in Asia? No advantage. The weak US puppet Australia, three thousand miles away from China? No way. India for a West partner? Nope, India is totally mindful of its British occupation and won’t go for alliances. So much for the Quad.
It looks like Stoltenberg’s defining issue just got redefined. Back into your Brussels Box, Stolty, looking for when the time is right in Afghanistan.