Nato set to keep close eye on China’s growing military might
- Foreign ministers to meet in London to discuss plans to monitor the build-up of Beijing’s armed forces as the bloc tries to show that it is rising to today’s challenges.
Envoys hope that two major policies – on space as a new frontier in defence and on China – will show that Nato is not a cold war relic but a shield against threats, including Russia’s decision to develop missiles capable of hitting Europe at short notice.
The space policy, which has been months in negotiation, will mean that battles can be waged not only on land, in the air, at sea and on computer networks, but also in space.
Nato will not deploy weapons to space. It will begin work on protecting satellites crucial for modern communications.
Nato diplomats denied that the alliance would be on a war footing in space, but said that declaring it a domain would begin a debate over whether Nato should eventually use space weapons that could shut down enemy missiles and air defences or destroy satellites.
China and Russia are also active in space.