Dr. Mohamed A. Elchime
Associate Professor of Political science, Helwan University
On the 70th anniversary of its founding against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the NATO summit statement will explicitly point out, for the first time in the history of its summits, that rising military power, China, is a challenge that requires joint action. “We recognize that China’s increasing influence and international policy are both opportunities and challenges, which we, as an alliance, have to deal with jointly,” the statement said. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said China’s growing military capabilities – including missiles that could hit Europe and the United States – meant the coalition must address the issue collectively. “We have now realized that China’s escalation has security implications for all allies,” Stoltenberg said. “China has the second largest defense budget in the world and recently offered a lot of new and modern capabilities, including long-range missiles capable of reaching the whole of Europe and the United States.” The heavily contested South China Sea has become a flashpoint between Beijing and the United States, with Washington accusing China of “intimidation.”
Beijing set up military facilities, shocked ships and sent survey ships to a disputed area in the sea, whose ownership is disputed by a number of countries. NATO’s defense mission is limited to Europe and North America, but Stoltenberg said China’s influence has begun to reach NATO’s shores. “It’s not about moving NATO to the South China Sea,” he said. “It’s about taking China closer to us in the Arctic, in Africa, and investing heavily in our infrastructure in Europe and in cyberspace.” But he stressed that NATO’s new approach “is not to create a new adversary, but to analyze, understand and respond in a balanced way to the challenges posed by China.”
The statement pointed out that NATO countries (29 countries) considered the fifth generation of standard mobile networks, which is considered a leading Chinese company Huawei, a potential problem area: «We recognize the need to bet on systems that are safe and resilient». But the statement did not respond to the United States’ desire that alliance members pledge to give up Huawei products when building 5G mobile networks. Countries such as Britain and Germany have repeatedly said they do not share the United States’ basic criticism of Huawei. The United States believes that it is not possible to establish secure networks using Huawei products, because in some cases the company is likely to have to pass data on users of these products to the government in Beijing. In its final statement, the NATO Council stressed the need to strengthen political coordination among NATO partners, in response to the demands of the German government. But NATO members were unable to agree on the appointment of a working group. The statement simply asked the secretary general to make a proposal on a “progressive reflexive process.”
The German foreign minister, Haikou Mas, has proposed the formation of a NATO reform committee, in response to the controversy raised by French President Emmanuel Macron two weeks ago on the status of the alliance. Unilateralism has a political security dimension, and accused the alliance of being “brain dead”.
Macron reiterated his criticism of NATO and criticized Turkey for its military operation against Kurds in northern Syria. “My remarks provoked reactions, but I mean them,” Macron said Tuesday in London, referring to his earlier remarks in which he described NATO as “brain dead”. Macron explained that it falls within this trend, a common definition of terrorism, pointing out that there are shortcomings in this so far.
With regard to Russia, the Alliance stressed, as has been the previous statements, that its aggressive operations pose “a threat to the security of the Atlantic,” stressing that the alliance remains open to dialogue with Moscow. Stoltenberg said the alliance did not consider Russia an enemy, but would respond to any aggression it might launch against Poland or the Baltic states. “We don’t look at Russia (as an enemy),” he said, but “we must be confident that there is no possibility of repeating what we saw in Ukraine – Russia’s armed invasion of its neighbor – in other NATO countries.”
His position came after Turkey threatened to block new NATO defense plans to protect Poland and the Baltic states from a supposed Russian attack, unless Western powers classify a Kurdish organization as a terrorist. “With the presence of NATO forces in Poland and the Baltic states, we send a strong message to Russia: if there is any aggression against Poland or any of the Baltic states, the entire alliance will respond,” Stoltenberg told the Polish newspaper Regbospolita. French President Emmanuel Macron called for a strategic dialogue with Russia away from “naivety” during a joint press conference with Trump. “We have to initiate a dialogue, free from naivete, with Russia to reduce conflicts” with the country, Macron said, calling for “progress” on settling the conflict with Russia and Ukraine as a “precondition” for such a dialogue. A meeting on December 9 between Russian and Ukrainian presidents will be held in the presence of Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “We have to set an agenda between the Europeans and other NATO allies to identify common threats. The first common threat is international terrorism and ISIS terrorism,” Macron said.
At the same time, the Council stressed that NATO member states would continue to bet on nuclear weapons to ensure effective deterrence. “As long as there are nuclear weapons, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance,” the statement said. WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Russia wants to conclude an arms limitation and nuclear deal and plans to include China now or later. “I have to say that Russia wants to conclude an arms control agreement,” Trump said in Britain at the summit. Russia has a strong desire to conclude an arms control agreement and a nuclear one. ” “We will also include … China certainly. Maybe later or now. ” Macron also called for a new treaty on medium-range nuclear weapons, stressing that “France, Germany and other European countries are now threatened by new Russian missiles.” “We should not show any naivety about Russia, but I don’t think it is the best solution.”
Trump acknowledged that “the situation with regard to nuclear is not good.” And added that “We think a solution can be found” for nuclear weapons, he said. “We think they (the Russians) want to do that.” “We know they want to, and we too.” Trump expressed optimism that a settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could be reached. “I think meetings between Russia and Ukraine are very important,” he said. “Great progress can be made.” “They make peace because they have been fighting for a long, long time. “I think there are great opportunities to do that.”
