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Nato should recruit Singapore, Philippines, Japan, Thailand and others, former supreme allied commander says
- Former Nato supreme allied commander James Stavridis suggested the military alliance recruit Asia-Pacific countries that share ‘its vision of freedom’
- His list of potential allies with a similar view on democracy, liberty and human rights also included Australia, New Zealand and South Korea
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The Nato military alliance should consider broadening its membership to include Asia-Pacific nations, said a former Nato supreme allied commander.
“Nato should think about recruiting a few new members from outside its traditional boundaries,” retired US Navy Admiral James Stavridis wrote in a Bloomberg opinion piece on Monday.
Stavridis served as the military alliance’s chief from 2009 to 2013. Before that, he was the Commander of the US Southern Command from 2006 to 2009, where he oversaw military operations in Latin America.
Widening Nato’s membership, Stavridis wrote, was a necessary response to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine war, US-China tensions, and the territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
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In his opinion piece, Stavridis suggested recruiting Asia-Pacific countries “that share the alliance’s vision of freedom, democracy, liberty and human rights”. That list of potential allies included countries like Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.
In addition, Southeast Asian nations like the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore could also be brought in due to their ties with the United States, Stavridis wrote.
It is probably too soon to consider a global Nato … but perhaps there is a middle path
That said, Stavridis did acknowledge the difficulties of “expanding Nato geographically to include a group of Asian democracies”.
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