Concerns about U.S. direction loom over defence meeting

HALIFAX — Donald Trump’s shadow loomed large as defence ministers and senior military officers from various nations gathered in Halifax on Friday amid questions and concerns about his impact on global security.

Delegates from more than 70 countries are in the city for the Halifax International Security Forum, ostensibly to talk about ways to co-operate on some of the biggest threats facing the world.

But it was Trump and the uncertainty he has brought to long-standing assumptions about global security and the international order, particularly NATO, that dominated the first day of discussions.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and his British counterpart kicked off the annual summit by playing down concerns that Trump will weaken the military alliance, which has been the bedrock of North American and European security for decades.

During the presidential election campaign, Trump repeatedly called NATO obsolete and warned the U.S. would not automatically come to the defence of a member that was attacked.

When he indicated a willingness to overlook Russia’s actions in Ukraine in favour of tackling terrorism together, he also sent shockwaves through the alliance, particularly among Eastern European members, many of them former Soviet satellites who live in constant fear of an attack from Russia.

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told reporters there is always uncertainty with a new president and that NATO is seized with the need to spend more on defence.

“We need to distinguish between campaign rhetoric and what the new administration does in practice,” he said.

But he also said he would be “stressing” with Trump’s team “the importance of sticking the course with organizations that have secured the peace since the Second World War,” especially NATO.

Fallon’s comments echo those of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has launched a concerted campaign aimed at highlighting the importance of the alliance to the United States, and vice versa.

The campaign has highlighted the degree to which NATO members are concerned about a change in U.S. policy toward the organization, where it has acted as the unquestioned leader since the alliance was created in 1949.

Peter Van Praagh, president of the Halifax forum, said he expects there would be “frank and difficult” conversations among delegates from many nations about the changes that Trump’s election brings.