NATO at 75 Takes On a Bigger, Dangerous World

On July 9-11 in Washington, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrated its 75th anniversary. Along with the celebration, it criticized China for becoming a "decisive enabler" for Russia to wage war in Ukraine. 

NATO has also strongly condemned North Korea's exports of artillery shells and ballistic missiles for use by Russian soldiers. It says such behavior poses a threat to the rules-based international order.

The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday, July 11.

At their meeting, Mr Kishida said, "The security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable."

He added that the role of NATO has become even more important as the Japan Self-Defense Force intends to conduct more military drills with NATO countries and deepen cooperation in cyber and space.

Group Discussions

Prime Minister Kishida's trip to Washington enabled him to meet many important figures, including the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

They were pictured together on the balcony of the White House on Wednesday evening. Alongside them were Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of New Zealand, and South Korea's President Yook Suk-yeol. 

President Zelenskyy used the meeting with NATO's regional partners to discuss the rapidly changing situation in Ukraine and in the Indo-Pacific. The group agreed upon the "need for unity and coherence in security matters."

Posting on X, Mr Zelenskyy said: "I stressed that, in the face of relentless Russian attacks, Ukraine urgently needs to bolster its air defenses with additional air defense and electronic warfare systems." 

Australia was also invited to the NATO summit. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese asked his defense minister to attend as his deputy. His decision to skip the event to focus on domestic matters was criticized by opposition politicians.

During a short bilateral meeting between Mr Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, the two men agreed that their nations would strengthen cooperation with the United States, as well as with NATO and Indo-Pacific partners.

New British Leader

Many of the political leaders who attended the event in Washington were eager to meet new British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. He won a general election on July 4. Moreover, his center-left Labor Party now has a large majority in the British House of Commons.

Sir Keir said the visit was an opportunity to "be clear about the special relationship between Britain and the United States and about our long-standing commitment to NATO."

NATO expects its members to spend at least 2% of national income on defense. Britain's new government has said it aims to increase the UK's spending to 2.5%. Nevertheless, it has not yet set a date for hitting that target. 

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Kishida, Japan is also in the process of significantly increasing its defense spending. His target is to reach 2% of GDP by 2027.

Sir Keir and Mr Kishida held a bilateral meeting on July 11. They said they would further strengthen the Japan-UK relationship and work together to address the challenges of the international community.

In addition, they reaffirmed that cooperation and collaboration between like-minded countries, such as Japan and the UK, is vital. 

Prime Minister Kishida used the meeting to stress the importance of cooperation to realize a "free and open Indo-Pacific."

British Assessment

Sir Keir said of NATO: "This is a defensive alliance. We do not seek conflict. But we know that the best way to avoid it is to prepare for it."

The British leader added that the "generational threat from Russia demands a generational response. He said that NATO's response to the challenge posed by states such as Russia, China, and North Korea will "shape the world for decades to come."

Sir Keir Starmer was accompanied on his trip to Washington by Britain's new Foreign Secretary, David Lammy. Before the election, Lammy wrote: "We have plans to make Britain better defended so we are secure at home and strong abroad."

The new UK government also plans to conduct a review of the state of the military and appraise the relationship between Britain and China.

China's Response

China's state media was dismissive of the criticisms leveled by NATO, branding the claims as Cold War propaganda. China maintains that NATO should not "meddle" in what it calls the Asia Pacific arena.

The BBC's Security Correspondent Frank Gardner believes that the inevitable result of such geopolitical competition will be a tighter relationship between China, Russia, and other countries hostile to the West.

"China has already achieved a military takeover of parts of the South China Sea and is currently threatening the self-governing democracy of Taiwan. Pro-western countries in the region, notably Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines, would like to see more Western support to push back against China's growing power. But China is determined to resist this," says Mr Gardner.

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Author: Duncan Bartlett, Diplomatic Correspondent
Mr Bartlett is the Diplomatic Correspondent for JAPAN Forward and a Research Associate at the SOAS China Institute. Read his other articles and essays.