NATO is reportedly drawing up plans that would enable it repel an invasion by Russia - and that specifically acknowledge 'the rise of China' as part of its "strategic concept".
The "beefing up" of NATO's military presence and apparent expansion of its aims were revealed by its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in an interview with The Telegraph. He said that NATO was “in the midst of a very fundamental transformation” that will reflect “the long-term consequences” of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Before the invasion of Ukraine, NATO maintained a small “tripwire” force on its Eastern border, in former Soviet states like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as in Poland. The Telegraph reports that this force was "intended to symbolise the alliance’s commitment to defend itself from any Russian attack, rather than repel an invasion".
However, under plans being worked up by NATO commanders, this military presence "would be transformed into a major force capable of taking on an invading army", reports The Telegraph. Mr Stoltenberg said NATO now already had 40,000 troops under its direct command along its eastern borders - a force that is nearly 10 times the size it was before Russia's invasion.
“What we see now is a new reality, a new normal for European security," said Mr Stoltenberg. "Therefore, we have now asked our military commanders to provide options for what we call a reset, a longer-term adaptation of NATO. I expect that NATO leaders will make decisions on this when they meet in Madrid at the NATO summit in June.”
Mr Stoltenberg also said that China would be included in NATO’s 'strategic concept', its formal strategy document, as Beijing and Moscow appeared to be “working more and more closely together”.
Mr Stoltenberg told The Telegraph : “In NATO’s current strategic concept, which we agreed in 2010, China is not mentioned at all with one single word. We are finalising the work on the new strategic concept that will be agreed at the NATO summit in June.
"And there, I expect China to be an important part. Because the rise of China, the shifting global balance of power, has direct consequences for NATO"
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