WASHINGTON

- Coinciding with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's important visit to South Korea and the Philippines, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is making a unique visit to Japan and South Korea.

The two visits aim, in the first part, to strengthen Washington's military relationship with its allies from China's neighbors, and in the second part, to develop NATO's relations with Washington's most important and strongest allies in East Asia, Japan and South Korea.

These developments are consistent with what President Joe Biden started since he came to power two years ago by adopting steps aimed at militarily surrounding China in its regional framework by building a network of multiple and overlapping military alliances.

The visit of the US Secretary of Defense to East Asia is the sixth in the last two years.

The latest steps to strengthen US defense partnerships in the region with the aim of cordoning off China's rise in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left) at a press conference with his Philippine counterpart Carlito Galvez Jr. (Getty Images)

Military bases

Secretary Austin is seeking to reach an agreement that guarantees the opening of 4 Philippine military bases for the US army to be used routinely.

Washington has provided a security umbrella for Japan since the end of World War II, and for South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

The NATO Secretary's visit works to consolidate Western guarantees to East Asian countries to confront the growing Chinese ambitions, especially in the South China Sea region.

On the eve of Secretary Austin's tour, a US military official said that the Pentagon aims to "strengthen our regional alliances and partnerships to ensure that our common deterrent is stronger than ever before with the aim of maintaining and ensuring regional peace and security."

"Alliances raise the cost of coercion and aggression by any actor seeking to rewrite the rules of the road or unilaterally change the status quo, and it is clear that what is on everyone's mind first and foremost is the South China Sea," the official added.

On the other hand, last December, Washington allowed Japan to start a dramatic development in its space forces, and boosted its military budget in an unprecedented manner since the end of World War II. Tokyo also changed its military doctrine to ensure that it carries out offensive and preventive military actions when necessary.

Also, during the past two years, Biden led the establishment of the Okus Triple Alliance with Britain and Australia, and it was agreed to grant Australia nuclear-powered submarines to curb China's expansionist ambitions in the Pacific and Indian Oceans region, and Biden also led efforts to establish a quadruple alliance with Japan, India and Australia for the same purpose.

Popular condemnation of the US Secretary of Defense's visit to the Philippines (Getty Images)

China is the main concern of the Pentagon

The official Pentagon strategy towards the Indo-Pacific region, which was issued at the beginning of last year, warned that there was only a narrow window of time left to prevent China from turning the Indo-Pacific region into its own sphere of influence.

The document emphasized that "China combines its economic, diplomatic, military and technological strength in its quest to achieve a sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific region, and seeks to become the most influential power in the world."

"Our collective efforts, over the next decade, will determine whether China succeeds in changing the rules and norms that have benefited the Indo-Pacific region and the world over the past three decades," the document said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during his visit to Japan (Reuters)

Is NATO hostile to China?

Historically, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) focused on the European continent in its geographical scope, and there were several exceptions prompted by the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The visits of the NATO Secretary General to Seoul and Tokyo reflect the great focus that NATO places on the partnership with East Asian countries.

The issue of the rise and ambitions of China's military, and the war in Ukraine will be at the top of Stoltenberg's agenda, which aims to mobilize support for Ukraine. Tokyo and Seoul also confirmed sending additional non-military equipment to Kiev such as medical supplies, shields, helmets, generators and communications equipment, but they did not go beyond providing the weapons that Ukraine needs to repel the attacks. Russian, such as tanks, artillery or missile systems.

Speaking with Yonhap, Stoltenberg highlighted "global challenges, especially those coming from China, and one way to do that is to work more closely with partners in the region."

Some analysts believe that NATO, for its part, is working towards closer relations with like-minded countries, and Japan and South Korea are well aware of the similarities between Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the growing concern in the Indo-Pacific region of a similar conflict if China decides to invade Taiwan.

NATO is working to highlight that the Ukrainian crisis is not a European crisis, but rather a global crisis and a challenge to the rules-based order, and this is why the European alliance is keen mainly on the participation of other countries in providing support to Ukraine.

Stoltenberg's visit comes after the leaders of South Korea and Japan attended an unprecedented NATO summit in Madrid last June, in which the alliance adopted a strategic document that described China as a "systematic challenge to Euro-Atlantic security."

Prepare for a confrontation that no one wants

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrives in China this weekend, and the visit comes at an embarrassing time, and in addition to the statements issued by the Pentagon about an expected military confrontation with Beijing in 2025, Washington pressed until it was able to push the Netherlands and Japan to stop exporting advanced semiconductors to China, and also cut off American suppliers and their relationships with Chinese tech giant Huawei.

Blinken will also try to reassure China that the anti-China side in Congress, which was reflected in the formation of a new House Committee on Competition with China, does not reflect the White House's thinking.

The question remains, will Blinken succeed in laying a new foundation for stable relations that guarantee setting specific standards and limits for competition with China at a time when Beijing sees Washington not stopping efforts to militarize and encircle China's neighbors in the Pacific and Atlantic regions?