Connect with us

Politics

To Counter China, NATO And Its Asian Partners Are Moving Closer Under US Leadership

Published

2 months ago

on

finland joins nato

Washington — In the third year of the war in Ukraine, NATO plans to strengthen ties with its four Indo-Pacific partners, who, while not members of the military alliance, are gaining prominence as Russia and China forge closer ties to counter the United States and the two Koreas’ support for opposing sides in Europe.

For the third consecutive year, the leaders of New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea will attend the NATO summit, which begins Tuesday in Washington, D.C., while Australia will send its deputy prime minister. China will watch the meeting intently, concerned about the alliance’s expanding interest beyond Europe and the Western Hemisphere.

“Partners in Europe increasingly see challenges halfway around the world in Asia as relevant to them, just as partners in Asia see challenges halfway around the world in Europe,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Brookings Institution last week.

NATO

NATO | Reuters Image

To Counter China, NATO And Its Asian Partners Are Moving Closer Under US Leadership

America’s top diplomat stated that the US has been striving to tear down barriers between European alliances, Asian coalitions, and other global allies. “That’s part of the new landscape, the new geometry that we’ve put in place.”

As competition between the United States and China heats up, countries with similar security concerns are forging relations. Washington is attempting to limit Beijing’s ambition to challenge the US-led world order, which the Chinese government dismisses as a Cold War mindset aimed at restraining China’s inevitable growth.

On Monday, Beijing reacted strongly to unsubstantiated rumors that NATO and its four Indo-Pacific partners are preparing to release a document outlining their partnership and capabilities to respond to cyberattacks and disinformation.

Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, accused NATO of “breaching its boundary, expanding its mandate, going beyond its defense zone, and stoking confrontation.”

The conflict in Ukraine, which has put the West against Russia and its allies, has strengthened the case for greater collaboration among the United States, Europe, and its Asian allies. “Ukraine of today may become East Asia of tomorrow,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the United States Congress in April.

The United States and South Korea accused Pyongyang of supplying Russia with ammunition, while Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to North Korea last month and signed an agreement with leader Kim Jong Un calling for mutual military assistance.

South Korea and Japan, meanwhile, are deploying military equipment and humanitarian help to Ukraine. The US also claims China is sending Russia with machine tools, microelectronics, and other technology that will allow it to manufacture weapons for use against Ukraine.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will travel to Washington with “a strong message regarding the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea and discuss ways to enhance cooperation among NATO allies and Indo-Pacific partners,” his principal deputy national security adviser, Kim Tae-hyo, told reporters Friday.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stated that discussions will “focus on our collective efforts to support the rules-based system.”

According to Mirna Galic, senior policy analyst on China and East Asia at the US Institute of Peace, the cooperation allows NATO to coordinate with the four partners on topics of shared concern rather than becoming a direct player in the Indo-Pacific. For example, she said in an analysis that they can share intelligence and agree on actions like sanctions and aid delivery, but they do not intervene in military crises outside their borders.

According to Luis Simon, director of Vrije Universiteit Brussel’s Centre for Security Diplomacy and Strategy, the NATO summit will allow the United States and its European and Indo-Pacific partners to counter China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.

“The fact that the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific alliances are structured around a clear anchor — U.S. military power — makes them more cohesive and gives them a strategic edge as compared to the sort of interlocking partnerships that bind China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea,” Simon wrote in a commentary last week on War On the Rocks, a defense and foreign affairs website.

Zhu Feng, dean of the School of International Studies at Nanjing University in eastern China, expressed concern over NATO’s eastward swing. Beijing has asked that NATO refrain from interfering in Indo-Pacific security concerns and reconsider China as a strategic adversary.

“NATO should consider China as a positive force for the regional peace and stability and for global security,” Zhu indicated. “We also hope the Ukraine war can end as soon as possible … and we have rejected a return to the triangular relation with Russia and North Korea.”

“In today’s volatile and fragile world, Europe, the U.S. and China should strengthen global and regional cooperation,” according to Zhu.

NATO and China had little confrontation until 2019 when tensions between Beijing and Washington rose. The NATO summit in London mentioned China as a “challenge” that “we need to address together as an alliance.” Two years later, NATO upgraded China to a “systemic challenge” and stated that Beijing was “cooperating militarily with Russia.”

nato

NATO | NPR Image

To Counter China, NATO And Its Asian Partners Are Moving Closer Under US Leadership

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, leaders from Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand attended the inaugural NATO summit, where they highlighted China’s geopolitical problems. Beijing accused NATO of “collaborating with the US government for an all-out suppression of China.”

Beijing is concerned that Washington is creating a NATO-style alliance in the Indo-Pacific.

Chinese Senior Col. Cao Yanzhong, a scholar at China’s Institute of War Studies, asked US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last month if the US attempted to build an Asian version of NATO through partnerships and alliances. They include a grouping of the United States, Britain, and Australia; another with Australia, India, and Japan; and one with Japan and South Korea.

“What implications do you think the strengthening of the U.S. alliance system in the Asia-Pacific will have on this region’s security and stability?” Cao asked during the Shangri-la Dialogue security meeting in Singapore.

Austin responded that the United States merely collaborates with “like-minded countries with similar values and a common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Beijing reached its own decision.

“The real intent of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy is to integrate all small circles into a big circle as the Asian version of NATO in order to maintain hegemony as led by the United States,” Chinese Lt. Gen. Jing Jianfeng stated at the meeting.

SOURCE | AP 

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Politics

Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

Published

19 hours ago

on

2024-09-16

By

trump

NEW YORK — Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. shares rose on Friday after former President Donald Trump said he would not sell his ownership in the social media company.

“I don’t want to sell my stock. “I don’t need money,” Donald told reporters at his golf club in Los Angeles.

Donald owns over 115 million shares in the corporation, according to a recent SEC filing. According to Thursday’s closing price of $16.08, Donald’s stock is worth nearly $1.85 billion.

trump

Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

If the former president desires, he can begin selling shares of Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, on September 19, when a lockup provision expires. The lockup agreement banned corporate insiders from selling newly issued shares for six months after the company went public in March.

Even though Donald would earn a sizable payoff if he sold, Trump Media’s stock is now significantly less valuable than it was six months ago. When the company debuted on the Nasdaq in March, it reached a high of $79.38.

Donald founded Truth Social after being barred from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol brawl. Trump Media, headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, has been losing money and failing to generate revenue. According to regulatory documents, it lost approximately $58.2 million last year and generated only $4.1 million in revenue.

trump

Trump Media Stock Jumps After Former President Says He Won’t Sell Shares When Lockup Expires

“I use it as a method of getting out my word,” Donald remarked on Friday about Truth Social. “For me, it is a great voice.”

Following Donald’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the stock fell by more than 10% on Wednesday. On Friday, shares rose as much as 29% and closed up 11.8%.

SOURCE | AP

Continue Reading

Politics

Liberal Defence Departments Spends $34 Million on Sleeping Bags Unsuitable for Canadian Winters

Published

3 days ago

on

2024-09-13

By

Sleeping Bags Unsuitable for Canadian Winters

Canadian soldiers travelling to an Alaskan military drill were given 1960s military sleeping bags after complaining that the new ones were poor quality and unsuitable for sub-zero weather.

Despite the Liberal government spending more than $34.8 million on new sleeping bags, the Canadian Army requested late last year that hundreds of soldiers attending a joint northern exercise in Alaska with the Americans be provided antiquated, 1960s-vintage sleeping bags.

In late November last year, about 350 men from the 3rd battalion of the Canadian Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry went to Ram Falls Provincial Park, west of Red Deer, Alta., to train for northern operations.

During the training exercise last autumn, soldiers stated that despite using both the inner and outer shells and sleeping in stove-heated tents, they remained cold.

The temperatures during the exercise ranged from -5°C during the day to -20°C at night. According to an internal DND report dated December 5, 2023, the soldiers noticed “critical issues” with the new GPSBS sleeping bags, including a lack of warmth.

GPSB sleeping bags

GPSB sleeping bags cost taxpayers $34.8 million, were not suitable for for typical Canadian winter conditions – CBC Image

The inadequacy of the new GPSB sleeping bags caused the Department of National Defence (DND) to begin seeking for extra sleeping bags to keep soldiers warm and usable in the Far North.

The briefing memo proposed that soldiers participating in the drill with the US be “loaned” 500 of the army’s old Arctic sleeping bags, which the new system was intended to replace.

The Trudeau administration has emphasised the importance of protecting Canada’s Arctic in recent defence policy updates, and has committed a series of new equipment acquisitions for cold weather operations.

Specifically, the policy promised to purchase “new vehicles adapted to ice, snow, and tundra.”

However, some soldiers who contacted CBC News with complaints about the sleeping bags expressed scepticism about such claims, citing DND’s failure to deliver on something as fundamental as a sleeping bag fit for the Canadian winter.

The DND stated that the 3rd battalion was the second unit to complain about the new sleeping bags. During a separate drill, troops from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, discovered flaws in the new sleeping bags.

Nonetheless, the government stated that it will not abandon the new sleeping bags and has begun a separate procurement of sleeping bags fit for a Canadian winter at an undisclosed cost to taxpayers.

In its statement to the CBC, the DND stated that it solicited comments from soldiers, but they did not respond immediately when asked what type of cold weather testing was conducted before purchasing the sleeping bags.

The GPSBS sleeping bags were chosen through a rigorous competition process, with technical requirements such as insulation value, bag weight, and packing volume, according to the DND.

Related News:

NATO Secretary-General Urges Trudeau to Honour Canada’s Spending Target

NATO Secretary-General Urges Trudeau to Honour Canada’s Spending Target

 

 

 

Continue Reading

Politics

Trudeau’s Grapples With a Mass Exodus of Senior Staff

Published

5 days ago

on

2024-09-11

By

Trudeau
Five chiefs of staff for Liberal ministers have quit - Image Counter Signal

The minority Liberals are returning to a precarious position in the House of Commons, having lost the automatic support of the New Democratic Party, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is currently grappling with an exodus of senior staff.

According to six Liberal sources who each confirmed some of the names of those leaving, five of his 38 ministers are losing their chiefs of staff in quick succession, with several already gone. These chiefs of staff include the top advisers at Global Affairs, Heritage, Environment, National Revenue, and Mental Health and Addictions.

According to the sources, a number of employees had been contemplating their departures for months, while others had been entertaining the idea for an extended period before ultimately making the decision. Some of the sources stated that five out of 38 is a significant decrease, despite the fact that the Liberals have frequently encountered turnover among their ministerial staff since assuming office in 2015.

The Globe and Mail is refraining from disclosing the sources due to their inability to disclose an internal staffing change.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office downplayed the importance of the departures. Hundreds of political personnel are responsible for providing support to our government, cabinet ministers, and members of Parliament. Turnover is a typical aspect of the employment process for the personnel who perform this critical function, according to Mohammad Hussain, the press secretary for the PMO.

Trudeau’s loss of its top executive

Peter Wilkinson, the director of staff to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, is departing the office less than two years after his appointment. Senior staff member Jamie Kippen, who has served as the chief of staff to Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault for an extended period, has already completed his final day. Jude Welch, the director of staff for Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, has already departed.

Sarah Welch, the chief for Ya’ara Saks, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and Frédérique Tsai-Klassen, the chief to Minister of National Revenue Marie-Claude Bibeau, are also departing. According to the sources, the majority of the senior staff who are departing do not currently have a position lined up. However, they are eligible for severance payments that are calculated based on their years of service.

The party’s loss of its top executive, national campaign director Jeremy Broadhurst, a prominent senior Liberal for the past two decades, coincides with the exodus of top staff in ministerial offices. He was previously the national campaign director in 2019 and a senior adviser in the PMO before returning to the party last year.

Mr. Broadhurst tendered his resignation on Thursday, mere days prior to Mr. Trudeau’s scheduled meeting with his caucus in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Three Members of Parliament informed The Globe that they are anticipating the Prime Minister’s presentation of a credible strategy to regain the support of Canadian electors.

Senior staff members have resigned

According to two senior officials, it is unlikely that Mr. Trudeau will designate a replacement for Mr. Broadhurst at the caucus meeting. Nevertheless, an official in the PMO stated that the caucus will be provided with a comprehensive roadmap for the upcoming election. The two officials who were prohibited from disclosing the internal planning are not being identified by The Globe and Mail.

In addition to the anticipated resignation of Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez and the departure of Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan in July, all of the senior staff members have resigned.

Mr. O’Regan was a significant political ally of Mr. Trudeau. Mr. Rodriguez is anticipated to declare his departure from the federal Liberals in order to participate in the provincial party’s leadership race, as he currently occupies the most significant political position in Quebec for the government.

“I believe it is a sign of the end of government,” Lori Turnbull, chair of the public and international affairs department at Dalhousie University told the Globe and Mail. She said senior staff members are aware that their departures will only exacerbate the perception and reality of the current state of Trudeau and the government.”

“There is a perception that the Trudeau government has reached its conclusion and that the upcoming election will result in a loss.” The departure of senior staff indicates that even those who are committed to Team Trudeau can perceive the impending doom.

“It raises the question of whether we would witness the same departures in the event that a new leader were selected,” she continued.

The second-in-commands for each office have already been appointed to numerous top-level positions; however, the most critical position at Global Affairs has yet to be permanently replaced.

As of Sunday, Alexandre Boulé has assumed the role of interim chief for Ms. Joly, according to her office. In the interim, deputy chief of staff Joanna Dafoe will succeed Mr Kippen at Environment, and deputy Michael Lartigau will succeed Mr Welch at Heritage.

Marianne Dandurand has succeeded Ms. Tsai-Klassen as the superintendent of National Revenue.

The office announced on Sunday that the position of chief to the Mental Health and Addictions minister is still vacant.

Related News:

Trudeau Courts Canadian Separatists Party to Stay in Power

Trudeau Courts Canadian Separatists Party to Stay in Power

Continue Reading

Download Our App

vornews app

Advertise Here

Volunteering at Soi Dog

Soi Dog

Trending