At their summit in the US capital, NATO leaders are not only set to approve a new military aid package for Ukraine, but also to talk tough on China.
In an interview with US media ahead of the summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described China as “the main enabler of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
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China’s behavior during the war in Ukraine is being viewed by NATO countries as proof that Europe cannot afford to ignore the challenge Beijing poses.
Why does Deutsche Welle use the American date notation?
In addition, some observers say that NATO’s involvement in the Indo-Pacific would not be welcomed by everyone. “This is a very volatile region. But there are no hot wars at the moment,” Shada Islam, an independent EU advisor in Brussels, told DW. “Most of the countries that I speak to, whether it’s Indonesia or Malaysia or even India, don’t want this foreign power to come to the region and perhaps make things worse,” Islam said. So, getting tougher on China and establishing closer bonds with partners in the Indo-Pacific will remain a difficult balancing act for NATO. “It’s a balancing act because there is a risk of escalation,” Liselotte Odgaard at Hudson Institute told DW. If NATO countries push too hard, she said, China could decide to cooperate even more with Russia, North Korea and Iran. That certainly would not be in the interest of NATO.
I am sure everything will turn out fine and dandy