{"id":111835,"date":"2023-07-14T06:52:26","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T11:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/?p=111835"},"modified":"2023-07-14T06:55:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T11:55:28","slug":"nato-not-expanding-eastward-into-asia-says-us-ambassador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2023\/07\/14\/nato-not-expanding-eastward-into-asia-says-us-ambassador\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO Not Expanding Eastward Into Asia, Says US Ambassador"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"VOA \u2014 VILNIUS, LITHUANIA \u2014 <\/span>The United States is defining the limits of NATO\u2019s outreach in the Indo-Pacific region, saying its focus on challenges posed by China does not signal an intention to invite Asian nations to join the bloc.<\/p>\n

Speaking Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Lithuania, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told VOA, \u201cWe’re not adding members from the Indo-Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re breaking down barriers between America’s Atlantic allies and America’s Pacific allies to look at common challenges like cybersecurity, emerging and disruptive technology, maritime security,\u201d she said. \u201cThere’s a whole array of issues where we can learn from one another without bringing anyone from the Indo-Pacific formally into the alliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beijing criticized this week\u2019s joint NATO statement that said China challenges the groups\u2019 interests and security with \u201ccoercive policies.\u201d A Chinese diplomat said the communique disregarded facts and misrepresented Beijing\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

NATO countries signed on to the joint statement that underscored that \u201cstated ambitions and coercive policies\u201d of the People\u2019s Republic of China, or PRC, have \u201cchallenged the alliance\u2019s interests, security and values.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe PRC employs a broad range of political, economic and military tools to increase its global footprint and project power, while remaining opaque about its strategy, intentions and military buildup,\u201d the group\u2019s leaders said in their\u00a0communique<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Beijing quickly rejected the claims. Instead of reflecting on its own responsibilities, NATO \u201chas been making groundless accusations, meddling in affairs beyond its borders and creating confrontation,\u201d a spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the European Union said in a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0Tuesday.<\/p>\n

NATO has sent mixed signals about whether to open a liaison office in Japan, the first of its kind in Asia. France has opposed it saying the bloc should keep focused on the North Atlantic, but NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said this week that it\u2019s still up for discussion.<\/p>\n

China has warned NATO against what it has called an \u201ceastward movement into the Asia-Pacific region\u201d and vowed to deliver a \u201cresolute response\u201d to actions that jeopardize its \u201clegitimate rights and interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"President<\/div>\n<\/div>
President Joe Biden addresses the public during an event at Vilnius University on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 12, 2023.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In a speech in front of thousands of Lithuanians, President Joe Biden made no direct mention of China but alluded to themes commonly used by his administration in describing Beijing\u2019s violation of international rules and norms.<\/p>\n

Biden said nations must work together to safeguard rights and freedoms needed to protect “the flow of ideas and commerce” that “have enabled decades of global growth.” He said it was necessary to respect territorial integrity and sovereignty, “but also principles like freedom of navigation, and overflight, keeping our shared seas and skies open so that every nation has equal access to our global common space.”<\/p>\n

As NATO committed to work together to address the systemic challenges posed by the PRC to Euro-Atlantic security, the most important action the alliance can take is to stay unified, said Mark Kennedy, director of the Wahba Institute of Strategic Competition at the Wilson Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was exhibited in the communique,\u201d he told VOA. \u201cThe key will be to translate these commitments into reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indo-Pacific partners<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indo-Pacific partners attended the summit amid concerns about rising tension in the region from increasing Chinese military activities and threats from North Korea. On Wednesday, Pyongyang tested a suspected long-range ballistic missile.<\/p>\n

This is the second time the Indo-Pacific partners have participated in the gathering of North Atlantic leaders, after last year\u2019s NATO summit in Madrid. Participating leaders included Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.<\/p>\n

Smith pointed to an initiative called the Individually Tailored Partnership Program, or ITPP, that NATO struck with Japan as an example of deepening ties with Indo-Pacific partners.<\/p>\n

Collaboration will go beyond traditional security areas and extend to cyber, emerging and disruptive technologies, and strategic communications, Kishida said Wednesday about the deal.<\/p>\n

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\"NATO<\/div>\n<\/div>
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomes Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida prior to a meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Asia-Pacific partners during the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 12, 2023.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Speaking alongside Stoltenberg, Kishida said the new arrangement is a response to challenges in the international security environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cJapan and NATO share the understanding that unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion will not be tolerated, regardless of where they occur in the world,\u201d Kishida said.<\/p>\n

In May, as he hosted the Group of Seven summit of the world\u2019s wealthiest democracies in Hiroshima, Kishida emphasized that Japan has no plans to become a NATO member.<\/p>\n

China\u2013Russia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beijing pushed back<\/a>\u00a0against NATO\u2019s assessment of its \u201cdeepening strategic partnership\u201d with Russia, which said the two countries are involved in \u201cmutually reinforcing attempts to undercut the rules-based international order.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin urged NATO to \u201cquit the outdated Cold War mentality\u201d and stop seeking to \u201csow chaos here in the Asia-Pacific or elsewhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wang criticized NATO\u2019s condemnation of North Korea\u2019s nuclear weapons program, saying the alliance is \u201cnot a party to the Korean Peninsula issues.\u201d He blamed the West\u2019s military deterrence and \u201cdouble standards on nuclear nonproliferation\u201d as counterproductive to settling Korean Peninsula issues.<\/p>\n

While Beijing has not provided lethal aid to Moscow, observers say its growing trade ties with Moscow have helped sustain the Russian economy, offsetting the effects of international sanctions.<\/p>\n

VOA\u2019s Celia Mendoza and Jorge Agobian contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VOA \u2014 VILNIUS, LITHUANIA \u2014 The United States is defining the limits of NATO\u2019s outreach in the Indo-Pacific region, saying its focus on challenges posed by China does not signal an intention to invite Asian nations to join the bloc. Speaking Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Lithuania, U.S. Ambassador to NATO […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recposts"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["fa","en"],"languages":{"fa":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111835"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111838,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111835\/revisions\/111838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}