Nato’s second-in-command to address Asia security forum as North Korea looms large
The 29-member Nato has been deepening relations with countries outside the Euro-Atlantic region like Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, designating them as ‘global partners’
Nato Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller will attend a major security forum in Asia next month, aiming to bolster the Western alliance’s ties with the region amid lingering fears about North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, a diplomatic source said on Sunday.
It will be the first time for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which primarily focused on the Euro-Atlantic area, to send such a high-ranking official to the Asia Security Summit, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, scheduled for June 1-3 in Singapore, the source added.
Nato is taking the gathering as an “excellent opportunity” to promote talks with Asian nations at a higher level at a time when the region is facing many challenges, among them cyber and maritime security as well as North Korea’s nuclear weapons development.
In recent years, China’s military rise has also prompted Nato to become more involved in Asia-Pacific region, which its westernmost members Canada and the United States are part of, foreign affairs experts say.
At the 17th annual meeting, defence ministers, their deputies and other senior military officials from around 40 countries, including the United States and those in Asia and Europe, are certain to discuss regional security issues.
The 29-member Nato has been deepening relations with countries outside the Euro-Atlantic region like Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, designating them as “global partners”.
Late last year, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Tokyo and met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at which time they stressed the importance of the international community maintaining maximum pressure on North Korea.
Stoltenberg said Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear weapons programmes “pose a global threat,” with concerns growing that North Korea has developed intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach Europe.