Chen Hong: Does Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand have a new role in NATO's "Asia Pacific" layout?
2022-12-06
On December 2, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the ROK held an online consultation of vice foreign ministers. Although the details disclosed by the media about this meeting are only a few words, the unusual thing about this meeting is that it was the first time that the leaders of the four countries were invited to participate in the NATO Summit in Madrid in June this year. The key topic of this meeting was to discuss "how to carry out cooperation in the Indian Pacific region and with Europe, the United States and other countries". As we all know, the four countries of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand are considered to be the four countries that NATO most wants to win over in the process of "Asia Pacific". This consultation at the vice foreign minister level is of great significance for observing the next NATO action to promote "Asia Pacific". In recent years, the United States has begun to vigorously promote the "Indo Pacific Strategy" aimed at containing China. Against this background, NATO intends to continue to extend its strategic focus eastward in accordance with the road map of the United States, and begin to extend its tentacles to the Asia Pacific region, so as to achieve the goal of NATO's "Asia Pacific" or "Indo Pacific". In the Strategic Concept for 2022 issued by NATO, the medium and long-term goals are directly or indirectly directed at China. It should be said that Washington has already begun to carry out a division of labor and a step-by-step layout in the Asia Pacific region. First, Australia and New Zealand belong to the "Five Eyes Alliance". In the context of the "Indo Pacific Strategy", the initial function of the "Five Eyes Alliance", which is only a loose organization between Anglo Saxon countries for information sharing, has turned into a broader and closer security framework for cooperation, serving the military purpose of the "Indo Pacific Strategy" of the United States. Second, both Japan and Australia are members of the "US Japan India Australia Quadrilateral Dialogue Mechanism", which is considered to be the hub of the "India Pacific Strategy" and connects the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean horizontally, forming a "encirclement" with China. Third, the "Orcus" security partnership established by the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia last September has laid the foundation for strengthening military cooperation among the three countries, especially for Australia to provide nuclear military capabilities. At this stage, NATO seeks to strengthen cooperative relations with the four countries of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, which is not just a simple superposition of tactics. It can be seen that Washington is not satisfied with forming a "small NATO" in Asia through such mechanisms as the "US Japan India Australia Four sided Dialogue", but intends to further project NATO's political influence and military deterrence directly to China's neighboring countries and regions. The newly established "Blue Pacific Partnership", which includes the United States, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, is linked vertically in the Pacific region in an attempt to form a small maritime circle with a sword pointing at China. South Korea is the only mainland country in Northeast Asia. Due to the special geopolitical factors on the Korean Peninsula, it has close relations with the United States in terms of security and strategic interests, so it is naturally bound into NATO's eastward war vehicle. According to Japanese media reports, the talks particularly emphasized the so-called "promoting maritime activities" of China, "confirming the policy of deepening relations with ASEAN and Pacific island countries", which clearly reflects the new US empowerment of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand in NATO's "Asia Pacific" layout. The task assigned to these four Asia Pacific countries is to give full play to their respective roles in Southeast Asia and
Edit:qihang Responsible editor:xinglan
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