There is already a mess inside and still desperately looking for opponents

　　NATO rushes to hospital for illness (global hot spot)

　　According to foreign media sources, the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) 30 member defense ministers meeting was held in video mode recently.

The meeting focused on major security issues, strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense deployment and other topics.

Among them, the so-called "NATO 2030" aimed at updating NATO's strategic vision became the focus of the meeting.

NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg once again hyped up the so-called "security threats" from China and Russia in his speech, which aroused the attention of the outside world.

　　NATO talks about China and Russia

　　According to foreign media reports, NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg delivered a speech entitled "NATO 2030-Strengthening the Alliance in an increasingly competitive world" at the NATO Defense Ministers meeting.

Stoltenberg mentioned that "Russian military operations are increasing," and "China's rise is fundamentally changing the global balance of power and intensifying competition for economic and technological advantages."

Before the meeting, Stoltenberg declared that he would conduct extensive discussions on the "China-Russia threat."

　　This is not the first time NATO has talked about China and Russia.

According to previous reports from foreign media, in December 2019, the NATO London Summit issued a joint statement stating that "China's growing influence and its international policies have brought opportunities and challenges that the alliance needs to address together."

In December 2020, NATO issued the "NATO 2030" reform report for the next 10 years, stating that although Russia will remain NATO's main opponent in the next decade, NATO "must think more seriously about how to deal with China and its military rise."

　　The US "National Defense" magazine website recently published an analysis that NATO was established in the early days of the Cold War with the original intention of defending the Soviet Union.

After the end of the Cold War, NATO has been committed to combating other threats.

The article also pointed out that "NATO is producing a new'strategic concept.' It is paying more attention to responding to China's growing military capabilities-this is part of NATO's latest reform content."

　　It is worth noting that the NATO Defense Ministers' Meeting also announced that it will increase NATO defense spending for the seventh consecutive year in 2021.

Stoltenberg emphasized that security is the foundation of NATO’s prosperity, but “military strength is only part of the answer” and NATO must “maintain military strength, be more politically united, and take a broader approach globally.” .

　　NATO's eccentric tendency increases

　　"The NATO defense ministers meeting is to warm up for this year's NATO summit and has a strong political purpose." Cui Hongjian, director of the Institute of European Studies of the China Institute of International Studies, analyzed in an interview with this newspaper that currently, NATO member states They are generally under tremendous pressure to fight the epidemic and recover the economy.

Frustrated in the economic and people’s livelihoods, they hope to demonstrate their strength by emphasizing political and security issues and show that they can still play a leading role in international affairs.

　　As a product of the Cold War, NATO is currently facing a series of problems: internal discord, weak transformation, and confused future... Within the alliance, there have been many bad talks such as "NATO obsolete" and "NATO brain death" in recent years.

　　Bloomberg recently published an article that NATO currently has three major problems.

The first is the "unbalanced defense expenditure within the alliance", "As all countries have been hit hard by the epidemic, the relevant disputes will continue in the next few years"; the second is "the challenge from Afghanistan", "after 20 years of painful fighting The member states have little enthusiasm for the implementation of NATO military missions.” Third, “the alliance has substantial differences in attitudes toward China.” “Many NATO countries, especially the EU, hope to establish strong economic and technological relations with China. It will weaken NATO’s cohesion."

　　"NATO is trying its best to find the purpose of its continued existence." The Russian Satellite News Agency commented.

Wang Yong, a professor at the School of International Relations at Peking University, pointed out to this newspaper that seeking rationality for strengthening internal unity and increasing military spending is the main reason NATO is trying to hype "external threats."

　　"Under the influence of internal and external contradictions, NATO's tendency to centrifugation is increasing, stimulating the alliance to propose a new'strategic concept' and show'unity'." Cui Hongjian pointed out that in recent years, NATO has prescribed some prescriptions for itself to find space for continued existence. .

On the one hand, the so-called "Political NATO" is proposed, that is, through strengthening political consultations to coordinate and balance the strategic goals of various allies, reorganize the internal relations of the alliance, and participate in global strategic competition; on the other hand, accelerate the "NATO expansion", which includes regional Expanding eastward and strengthening cooperation with countries outside the region also include expanding from traditional security to non-traditional security in terms of security objectives.

　　Cold War mentality is out of fashion

　　"Currently, global economic growth is difficult and various social challenges continue to emerge. How does NATO prove that it is reasonable to spend $1 trillion a year on a war machine that is not productive?" Russian media asked this question.

The article also pointed out that China is not an enemy trying to destroy Western countries, and NATO's logic does not conform to the facts.

In addition, the landmark investment agreement reached between China and the EU at the end of 2020 shows that for some NATO member states, "confrontation with important trading partners is an impossible task."

　　"The contradiction between NATO and the real world is so obvious." Some foreign media sighed.

List other countries as imaginary enemies, can NATO's "disease" be cured?

The answer is already very clear.

　　In Cui Hongjian's view, the so-called "political NATO" only started a process of discussion and consultation, but did not provide a solution, and there are still differences in the strategic goals of various member states.

In the future development, how NATO is compatible with Europe's own security protection capabilities is still a huge problem.

Although some contradictions within the alliance may be temporarily shelved, it has not disappeared.

　　NAJON’s talk about China and Russia was obviously a headache to heal the feet, and the medicine was not right.

Cui Hongjian analyzed that the foundation of NATO's existence was the consensus formed by Western countries on the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

However, under the current international situation, NATO has not reached a consensus on issues related to China and Russia.

Under this circumstance, the differences in the strategic objectives of the member states will continue to exist and will continue to be projected into NATO's internal conflicts.

It can be said that NATO has not been able to fully adapt to the changes in the international security environment after the Cold War, nor has it been able to solve the practical problems faced by member states, which has led to a continuous decline in the confidence of some member states in the alliance.

"NATO's overall conceptual mechanism and internal differences have dragged down the development of the alliance, so it is difficult for it to achieve true transformation."

　　Wang Yong pointed out that in today's era, economic ties between various countries and regions are getting closer and NATO still sticks to the Cold War mentality, which is out of fashion.

Blindly hyping and exaggerating the "security threats" of other countries will aggravate tensions in international relations, undermine international cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, and address climate change, going against the trend of the current era.

"Under the background of the severe epidemic situation and the huge pressure of economic recovery in various countries, major international actors should abandon outdated concepts such as the Cold War mentality, refrain from closed and exclusive coteries, maintain the multilateral international system with the United Nations as the core, and reinforce common interests. Unite and cooperate to cohesion for the fight against the epidemic and recovery."