"The rise of China and more active actions of Russia": what challenges for NATO highlighted by Stoltenberg

The strengthening of China, as well as the "decisive" behavior of Russia, is a challenge for the NATO countries.

This was stated by the secretary general of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg during the event, at which the annual report on the activities of the bloc for 2020 was presented.

“Russia is starting to act more and more decisively.

It is responsible for aggressive actions against its neighbors, as in the case of Ukraine and Georgia, for hybrid attacks and cyber attacks against NATO members, as well as for attempts to interfere in internal political processes.

At the same time, there is a shift in the global balance of power brought about by the rise of China.

We also note that China and Russia are increasingly cooperating and conducting joint military exercises, ”Stoltenberg said during a press conference.

“These challenges are of decisive importance for NATO and the future of the alliance,” the Secretary General said.

“Therefore, it is very important that NATO continue to adapt and respond to the increasingly difficult security situation, driven by both the rise of China and more active actions by Russia.”

Stoltenberg's annual report also notes that NATO countries are concerned about "Russia's destabilizing policy and its provocative military activities near the borders of the North Atlantic Alliance, as well as its conventional and hybrid operations, including in Libya, Syria and Ukraine."

Stoltenberg stressed that the new NATO 2030 strategy, which will be presented at the summit of the bloc this year, will outline a new approach to Russia.

It is worth noting that at the end of 2020, Stoltenberg said that NATO does not view Russia as a source of an immediate military threat.

He also noted that although China is not an enemy of the alliance, the rise of this Asian state poses problems for NATO.

Strategies and costs

Recall that Stoltenberg in 2021 has repeatedly announced the challenges to NATO countries from Russia and China.

For example, this was mentioned in the January report of the chairman of the military committee of the bloc, Stuart Peach.

"NATO Secretary General urged alliance members to continue to increase defense spending and investment in modern weapons, as well as ensure the readiness of our armed forces to face challenges such as Russian aggression, terrorism and the risks posed by the rise of China," he said.

• Russian and Chinese military at the exercises

• RIA News

• © Alexander Kondratyuk

It is worth noting that the annual report on NATO activities for 2020 notes that the military spending of all countries of the bloc increased by 3.9%, despite the negative impact of the pandemic on the economy.

It is noted that the total defense spending of the alliance amounted to $ 1.107 trillion.

At the same time, spending by NATO members on the purchase of new weapons amounted to 11.6% of all expenses.

In February, Stoltenberg proposed updating NATO's 2010 Strategic Concept, as it does not take into account the strengthening of China and a new approach to relations with Russia.

“In 2010, we adopted a strategic vision that served us well.

Since then, however, the security situation we face has undergone dramatic changes.

For example, the current version of the concept does not take into account the shift in the balance of power and the security implications associated with the rise of China, ”he said in a statement.

In addition, during the Munich Security Conference, Stoltenberg said that Russia and China are allegedly authoritarian regimes that "challenge" the existing world order and "are trying to rewrite the rules to suit their interests."

The defenders of this order, according to the NATO Secretary General, are Europe and the United States.

He added that China's rise could have implications for the collective security and prosperity of allies, so the alliance should deepen its cooperation with Australia and Japan.

Stoltenberg's statements were commented on in Beijing.

“I believe this is another demonstration of the Cold War mentality,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying TASS.

Hua Chunying added that Beijing is the builder of global peace and will continue to firmly pursue the path of peaceful development.

The diplomat expressed the hope that NATO will openly look at the development of China, since in the modern world the mentality of the Cold War will not lead anywhere.

New "challenges"

The statements of the leadership of the alliance about "challenges" to NATO countries from Russia did not go unnoticed in Moscow either.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on Stoltenberg's call to update the strategic concept of NATO because of Russia and China, noted that the alliance continues to look for a threat from the outside, instead of seeking to resolve the crisis in relations with other countries.

The Russian diplomat stressed that the bloc basically does not want to objectively assess their role in the crisis in bilateral relations.

“In recent years, we have repeatedly submitted for consideration initiatives that were aimed at finding ways out of this crisis, in particular, reducing tension, creating a truly equal system of European and Euro-Atlantic security.

All this remained without any intelligible reaction, ”the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman recalled.

She also added that the activities of the Russia-NATO Council, created in 2002, were not frozen on Russian initiative.

Corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences Sergei Sudakov, in a conversation with RT, noted that the "threat" from both Russia and China is far-fetched.

“For NATO, Russia has always been an existential enemy, and Stoltenberg added China to the list of challenges, because over the past 10-15 years this country has increased its military budget by an order of magnitude,” the expert noted.

According to him, today NATO is not a military organization, but a financial organization that earns about a trillion dollars a year, and most of this money is spent on maintaining the bureaucratic apparatus.

This is what motivating statements about "challenges" from Russia and China are needed.

“The more member countries are in the alliance, the more clumsy the structure and the less effective it becomes.

At the same time, the more fragmentation, far-fetched threats, the more countries begin to think about the fact that 2% of GDP is going nowhere, and to wonder about creating their own effective army, ”concluded Sergei Sudakov.

• NATO headquarters

• Reuters

• © Francois Lenoir

According to the head of the Center for Political-Military Studies of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Batyuk, the appearance of China along with Russia in the list of challenges to the North Atlantic Alliance indicates that the organization completely repeats the doctrine of the United States.

“It is hard to imagine that China would somehow threaten NATO's military security.

But in this case, Stoltenberg is voicing the strategic directive of Washington, according to which China and Russia are the number one enemy for US security, ”the political scientist explained.

The secretary general of the alliance is in a difficult position, since he must represent the interests of various countries of the alliance, where there is no unanimity on this issue, Vladimir Batyuk emphasized.

“Among the European allies of the United States there is a group of Eastern European countries, which carries out all their instructions.

But at the same time, Western and Southern Europe has a completely different idea of ​​threats to national security, ”said the expert.

There are states in NATO that see Russia and China as potential trade and economic partners, Vladimir Batyuk noted

.

“For example, many EU countries view the investment agreement with China as a prelude to a free trade zone agreement.

The Europeans see serious economic prospects in this, and they are not ready to give it up because of the US position, ”the political scientist believes.

According to Vladimir Batyuk, NATO is finding new "challenges" for itself to give legitimacy to the existence of the Cold War bloc.

“The existence of NATO could be understood in the 1980s, when Soviet troops were in East Germany.

But today the situation is different, the perception of the military threat has seriously changed, and in these conditions it is difficult to ensure the monolithic and indestructible unity of the North Atlantic Alliance, ”the expert concluded.