NATO is no longer merely a military alliance engaged in mutual defense of its members. It’s now a political-military alliance with concerns and interests across the globe. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in a virtual speech sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), previewed his NATO 2030 proposal ahead of the June 14 NATO summit. He set the stage with attacks on Russia and China, who, he said, were “leading an authoritarian pushback against the rules-based international order.” (https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_184636.htm)
“Russia continues its pattern of dangerous behaviour, with its massive military build-up from the Arctic to Africa,” he said. “It intimidates its neighbors, suppresses peaceful opposition at home, and carries out cyber and hybrid attacks across NATO countries.” NATO, Stoltenberg went on, does not see China as an adversary “but Beijing does not share our values.”
Stoltenberg’s NATO 2030 plan has eight points, the first of which is that “we will strengthen NATO as the unique and indispensable forum for trans-Atlantic consultations, on all issues that affect trans-Atlantic security, including, for instance, on Syria, Iran, or the South China Sea,” as if the South China Sea were in the “trans-Atlantic.” NATO, he went on, is not just a military alliance but a “political-military” alliance. “And even when we may not take military action, our political unity matters.” Included among the remaining points were the usual blather about the “shared values” of NATO members and partners and the usual commitment to defending “the rules-base international order” which is allegedly threatened by both Russia and China.