Plan to hike defense budget aims at shifting US burden, sowing discontent: expert
military equipment.”
This is not the first time for the NATO chief to hype so-called China’s control especially after NATO described China as a challenge to the military alliance’s “interests, security and values” in its new strategic concept agreed in June.
Stoltenberg attempted to lead the direction of the policy debate especially when leaders of some European major countries, including Germany and France, have met or plan to engage more with Chinese top leader, Cui said, noting that more high-level interactions between China and European countries are to come with the expectation to advance bilateral cooperation to a new level.
At the beginning of November, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited China with a delegation of senior business leaders. Later on November 15, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.
The recent frequent interactions between Chinese and EU leaders have upset the US, a Beijingbased expert who asked for anonymity told the Global Times. As NATO serves the US strategic goal, Stoltenberg’s words also highlight US’ unwillingness to see the EU deepen relations with China especially at a time when the EU is facing more challenges, said the expert.
Stoltenberg discussed the alleged China’s control on infrastructure and supply chains, which, according to the expert, also showed NATO extending its agenda to non-security fields.
Stoltenberg wanted to boost NATO members’ cooperation and solidarity by exaggerating the “threat” posed by China, which demonstrated that NATO, as a military alliance, is stuck in the Cold War mindset and that the only way to justify its presence is by fomenting conflict and crises, Li Haidong, a professor from the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Malicious plan
Stoltenberg said on Monday that NATO allies may also decide to spend more on defense than their current target of 2 percent of national output when they meet for their next summit in Vilnius in July 2023, Reuters reported.
The ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and the following impact on EU security are used by NATO as excuses to request for an increase in defense spending. The US is exerting more pressure on its allies in the EU to increase their contributions because US’ support for EU security domains may decrease as a result of power changes in US Congress, Li said.
In addition, certain European nations, particularly those with significant economies, will lose competitiveness as a result of high energy costs. Cui emphasized that the concern is with the subsequent chain reaction and systemic harm rather than short-term food and energy shortages.
He also noted that as supporting Ukraine has been made politically correct in the EU, the US and NATO have made full use of the Ukraine crisis to reinforce influence in the EU.
Analysts said that NATO’s plan to increase defense budget is one way for the US to blackmail the EU, requesting it to serve for a strategic goal set by the US, and as the Russia-Ukraine conflicts continue, the EU would be dragged into more turmoil if they continue to follow the US without realizing independence.