Can NATO’s ‘Asia-Pacificization’ sustain its survival？

(Liu Xuandi – Global Times) An unprecedented delegation of roughly 30 NATO ambassadors recently visited South Korea and Japan. According to Japanese media reports, it marks one of the largest diplomatic missions to the countries and is seen as a significant step toward an “Asia-Pacific NATO”. As a regional security alliance of countries from Europe and North America, NATO has in recent years increasingly stretched beyond its treaty-bound geographic scope, extending its reach into the Asia-Pacific region. Behind this move lies not only a continuation of the previous US administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy aimed at “containing China,” but also reflects the existential crisis and strategic anxieties NATO faces in a changing global landscape. The delegation’s visit comes at a time when the very foundation of NATO as a transatlantic alliance is showing widening rifts. As NATO’s lead military guarantor and financial backbone, Washington is becoming increasingly unpredictable. From EU’s rejection of US request to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, to US’ repeated threats to withdraw from NATO, to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s “emergency repair” trip to Washington last week, the alliance’s internally deep-seated crises are laid bare. – Can NATO’s ‘Asia-Pacificization’ sustain its survival？ – Global Times