NATO’s summit this week takes place at a crucial time, as Ukraine continues to fight against Russian aggression, while leaders are expected to seek ways to deal with China.
Our foreign affairs correspondent Bae Eun-ji explains more about what to expect and what’s different this year.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in 1949 to counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
A dozen countries including the U.S., Canada, and 10 from Europe signed the treaty at the time.
This year, NATO marks 75 years since its founding, and has now grown into the world’s biggest military organization with 32 members.
The leaders of these member states are set to meet this week in Washington D.C. for three days, starting Tuesday.
NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said the summit, which comes at a critical time for European security, will focus on three major topics:
First is providing more support to Ukraine.
As the NATO chief arrived at the Pentagon in Washington on Monday local time, he said Russia must accept a solution where Ukraine prevails as a sovereign nation.
“At the summit, we’ll make decisions to further strengthen our support for Ukraine. Russia must understand that they’re not able to wait us out.”
He also said the leaders will also address boosting NATO’s defense and deterrence, as well as investment, noting that he welcomes a record of 23 allies making the decision to invest at least 2 percent of their GDP in defense.
Also on the agenda will be NATO’s efforts to strengthen its global partnerships, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We also have the leaders of our Asia-Pacific partners Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea, present at the summit. That demonstrates that our security is not regional. Our security is global.”
Last week, Japanese media reported that NATO is planning to release its first joint document on expanding security cooperation with four Asia Pacific nations South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand in an apparent move to counter military threats from China.
The document is expected to contain detailed information on cooperation frameworks between NATO and the four countries, including cybersecurity and disinformation.
This week’s summit will be Stoltenberg’s last,.. as he hands over the reins to the outgoing Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte.
Last month, NATO appointed Rutte as its new secretary general to lead the organization starting in October.
Meanwhile, the summit is the first since Sweden and Finland formally joined NATO.
Sweden officially became the group’s 32nd member in March, and Finland joined the organization in April 2023.
Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.
Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=273057
Arirang TV(public institution's name)'s public work is used according to KOGL