NATO is adjusting its focus to account for the rise of China, according to a new report provided to NATO ministers. The report notes that the rise of China has entailed not only its economic might, but its emergence as a global military player in multiple facets of modern warfare.
The inclusion comes after staunch support for more hostile designations for China by the outgoing Trump administration and an increasingly hawkish tilt from Germany, headlined by its foreign minister Heiko Maas. Still, the caveats in the report stop short of outright declaration of an adversarial stance toward China. MapInfluenCE analyst Ivana Karásková explained the development for Al Jazeera.
““The US has been pushing for the past couple of years for China to be higher on NATO agenda. However, the other allies were reluctant to do so” apart from cybersecurity and the South China Sea…The inclusion of China to the report shows a considerable change in this perception, though the report is far from declaring China an adversary.”
Ivana Karásková on NATO’s New Tact
