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NATO calls for Asian links
By Paul Ames |
February 11, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
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NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen caught some people by surprise at the weekend with his call for the North Atlantic alliance to turn itself into a global security forum with increased ties with China, India and certain other countries.
But his speech at the Munich Security Conference put into the public domain what many at NATO headquarters have been saying privately for some time: that faced with increasingly globalized threats, the alliance has to develop new relationships way beyond its traditional heartlands in Europe and North America.
Rasmussen's speech on Sunday goes beyond that, saying the time has come to "turn NATO into a forum for consultation on worldwide security issues." He specifically mentioned the need to work with the major Asian countries. "This network of consultation and cooperation would be even stronger if countries such as China and India were to take part as well," he told the conference.
Many at NATO headquarters believe that it makes sense for the Western alliance to start serious talks on security cooperation with the Asian countries given the global nature of 21st century threats such as terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organized crime, cyber threats, piracy and climate change.
Rasmussen's proposals drew support at the Munich conference from former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and from Canadian and German ministers.
Whether the Asia powers would want to go that far remains to be seen. But both China and India have been increasing contacts in recent years. NATO's Deputy Secretary General Claudio Bisogniero visited Beijing in November 2009, the first such visit by such a high-ranking alliance official.
During his visit, he suggested a series of "step-by-step" moves to boost relations, such as talks between military staff and exchanges of speakers at military training academies.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's attendance at this year's Munich Security Conference marked a first for a Chinese foreign minister.
But his speech at the Munich Security Conference put into the public domain what many at NATO headquarters have been saying privately for some time: that faced with increasingly globalized threats, the alliance has to develop new relationships way beyond its traditional heartlands in Europe and North America.
Rasmussen's speech on Sunday goes beyond that, saying the time has come to "turn NATO into a forum for consultation on worldwide security issues." He specifically mentioned the need to work with the major Asian countries. "This network of consultation and cooperation would be even stronger if countries such as China and India were to take part as well," he told the conference.
Many at NATO headquarters believe that it makes sense for the Western alliance to start serious talks on security cooperation with the Asian countries given the global nature of 21st century threats such as terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, organized crime, cyber threats, piracy and climate change.
Rasmussen's proposals drew support at the Munich conference from former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and from Canadian and German ministers.
Whether the Asia powers would want to go that far remains to be seen. But both China and India have been increasing contacts in recent years. NATO's Deputy Secretary General Claudio Bisogniero visited Beijing in November 2009, the first such visit by such a high-ranking alliance official.
During his visit, he suggested a series of "step-by-step" moves to boost relations, such as talks between military staff and exchanges of speakers at military training academies.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's attendance at this year's Munich Security Conference marked a first for a Chinese foreign minister.
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