NATO selects new ‘threat’ to bully

(MENAFN) At its recent summit in The Hague, NATO announced a major shift in its defense strategy, committing to raise annual military spending to 5% of GDP by 2035—more than doubling the current 2% target. This marks a significant move toward increased militarization across member states and signals growing concern over global power dynamics.

Although China was not explicitly mentioned in the summit's final declaration, its influence loomed large throughout the event. NATO leaders, including Secretary General Mark Rutte, made pointed remarks about Beijing’s rapid military expansion, drawing connections between China and other U.S. adversaries such as Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

Rutte, in earlier remarks at Chatham House, described these nations as a dangerous quartet, portraying China as part of a broader threat to Western interests. The narrative continued at May’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned of a potential Chinese assault on Taiwan and urged allied nations in the Indo-Pacific to boost their defense budgets. His comments reinforced Washington’s strategic pivot toward Asia, potentially at the cost of its traditional European focus.

Adding to the tension, leaders from Australia, Japan, and South Korea—NATO's designated "Indo-Pacific partners"—chose not to attend the summit, a move widely interpreted as a diplomatic rebuke. This setback challenges NATO's efforts to expand its influence into the Asia-Pacific region.

Since classifying China as a “systemic challenge” in its 2022 Madrid summit “Strategic Compass,” NATO has increasingly tied East Asian developments to European security. The alliance has sought stronger ties with nations like Australia, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand in defense of what it terms the “rules-based order”—a phrase critics view as a stand-in for maintaining Western dominance.

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