german-foreign-policy: NATO Setting Sights on East Asia
The western alliance is assuming a stronger posture in relationship to China. US experts call for NATO operations in the Pacific.
BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Own report) – NATO should systematically expand its military exercises and operations into the Asia-Pacific region, an expert of Washington’s Atlantic Council think tank proposes in the intensifying debate on the posture the western war alliance should assume in relationship to the People’s Republic of China. China’s “presence in the Arctic, in Africa and in the Mediterranean” calls for a response, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Think tanks suggest that NATO should more closely monitor Chinese investments in the European infrastructure, because “civilian roads, ports and rails” under construction with Chinese participation “are an integral part of NATO’s plans for military mobilization.” NATO is also strengthening its relations with “global partners” such as Japan, South Korea and Australia. For the first time, Australia’s defense minister participated at the meeting of the NATO Ministers of Defense that ended yesterday. The Atlantic Council is also suggesting the establishment of a NATO military headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region.