Allied leaders adopted their new Strategic Concept on Wednesday 29 June, 12 years after the Lisbon Concept. The 16-page document calls Russia “the most significant and direct threat to the security of the Allies and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area” and mentions China for the first time. “The relationship (between NATO and Russia) is at its lowest level since the end of the Cold War”, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the media, adding that Russia, not the Alliance, was responsible.
Russia “seeks to establish spheres of influence and direct control through coercion, subversion, aggression and annexation” the Strategic Concept said, adding that it was using conventional, cyber and hybrid means against Allies and their partners and developing its capabilities. “It aims to destabilise countries to our East and South”, the Allies denounced.
While the concept adopted in 2010 qualified Russia as a strategic partner, “given its hostile policies and actions, we cannot consider the Russian Federation to be our partner”, the Allies warn. However, they remain willing to maintain open channels of communication with Moscow in order “to manage and mitigate risks, prevent escalation and increase transparency”.
While stressing that NATO, for its part, does not seek confrontation or pose a threat to Russia, the Strategic Concept warns that the Allies will continue to respond to Russia’s threats and hostile actions in a “united and responsible” way.
“We will significantly strengthen deterrence and defence for all Allies, improve our ability to resist Russian coercion and help our partners counter malicious interference and aggression”, the leaders warn.
Strengthening deterrence and defence
Thus, “NATO leaders decided a fundamental shift in our defence and deterrence to respond to a new security reality”, Jens Stoltenberg told the media. According to the political declaration adopted at the summit, “Allies have committed to deploy additional robust in-place combat-ready forces on our eastern flank, to be scaled up from the existing battlegroups to brigade-size units where and when required, underpinned by credible rapidly available reinforcements, pre-positioned equipment, and enhanced command and control”. The NATO Response Force will be transformed and the number of high-readiness forces will be increased “ to well over 300,000”, Mr Stoltenberg said. Without being very precise in his count, he explained that it was a combination of deployed forces, particularly on the Alliance’s eastern flank - currently 40,000 troops under NATO command - and troops that would remain based in their home countries but would be organised in such a way as to be able to integrate into NATO operations.
The Alliance will also improve its collective defence exercises to prepare for high-intensity, multi-domain operations and ensure that all Allies are reinforced at short notice. “All these steps will substantially strengthen NATO’s deterrence and forward defences. This will help to prevent any aggression against NATO territory by denying any potential adversary success in meeting its objectives”, the joint statement said.
Combating Chinese influence
The Strategic Concept devotes no less than two paragraphs to China, which was not mentioned at all in the previous version of the document. “The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values”, the document says. NATO leaders believe that Beijing is deliberately undermining the rules-based international order, particularly through its economic policies. “The PRC seeks to control key technological and industrial sectors, critical infrastructure, and strategic materials and supply chains”, according to the Alliance.
Chinese military activities are also clearly mentioned and described as a threat to NATO's security. Alliance leaders criticise Beijing for rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal while failing to increase transparency and commit to arms control or risk reduction.
To counter these various threats, the leaders want to “work together responsibly, as Allies, to address the systemic challenges posed by the PRC to Euro-Atlantic security and ensure NATO’s enduring ability to guarantee the defence and security of Allies”.
And it does not stop with the Allies. The latter also met with several partners in the Indo-Pacific region on 29 June (Australia, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand) with whom they want to cooperate to counter Chinese influence and practices. “These global challenges require global solutions”, said the NATO Secretary General. These countries are expected to work with the Alliance on issues such as cyber defence, new technologies, maritime security, climate change, and disinformation.
NATO leaders also focused on the rapprochement between China and Russia, which they said ran counter to their interests and values. For the Allies, this “growing strategic partnership” between Beijing and Moscow aims to undermine the rules-based international order. Stoltenberg also regretted that China was spreading the Kremlin’s disinformation and lies.
At a public summit forum in Madrid, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo qualified the language about Beijing: “Let us not put Russia and China in the same basket”, because they also have different positions on many issues, he said. However, he told the press that any Chinese support for Russia should be denounced.
See the Strategic Concept: https://aeur.eu/f/2et
See the Madrid declaration: https://aeur.eu/f/2fj (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Léa Marchal)