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.
China cuts taxes and defence budget growth, demands more profits from state firms
A new policy to be agreed on China will also lay the ground for Nato to focus closely on Beijing’s military ambitions and to ensure allied communications networks and infrastructure are safe from any possible foreign interference.
China had the second-largest defence budget after the United States in 2018 and has added 80 ships and submarines to its navy, the equivalent of the entire British navy, in the past five years, Nato says.
“When there is a military build-up, you have to see what you need to defend against,” US ambassador to Nato Kay Bailey Hutchison said. “We are not provocative in any way.”
Two weeks before the Western alliance meets for a summit in London to mark 70 years since its foundation, ministers aim to show they are rising to challenges despite tensions over US President Donald Trump’s leadership, alarm at Turkey’s ties with Russia, and French doubts about Nato’s viability.
“Reports of Nato’s death are greatly exaggerated,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron’s November 7 comments about “the brain death of Nato”.
Is China avoiding arms race with US by setting ‘low-key’ defence budget?
Nato diplomats said Macron prompted soul-searching after expressing doubt in his interview with The Economist about US-led Nato’s security maxim. Nato allies promise that an attack on one is an attack on all — a promise that has underpinned transatlantic ties since the alliance’s 1949 foundation.
Still, diplomats concede the Western military alliance needs to be more consistent. Macron’s comments, Trump’s confusing policy in Syria and Turkey’s decision to defy allies and invade northern Syria last month have strained the mood.
Foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are expected to reaffirm their commitment to the Nato security guarantee at the Brussels meeting.
