An 'Asian NATO' To Counter China? QUAD May Help Kick-Off New Military Alliance

Washignton Times has reported that the officials from the United States and Europe are considering the possibility of formulating an ‘Asian NATO’. To counter China’s expansionist strategies is one of the objectives behind creating such an organisation. Jens Stoltenberg is the Secretary-General of NATO.

He has apparently stressed on the necessity for the North Atlantic Alliance becoming more global as China’s emergence as a rising superpower is changing the global balance of power fundamentally. India, US, Australia and Japan have an informal defence alignment named ‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue’ in place.

Stephen E Biegun, Deputy Secretary of State of the US, indicated that the ‘Quad’ could kick off an association in lines with the NATO in Asia. In the US-India strategic held on 31 August, Biegun revealed that the aforementioned proposition could be explored in Donald Trump’s second term of the next President’s first spell.

More than merely countering China, Biegun had earlier mentioned that an ‘Asian NATO’ could implement a rules-based value system and coordinate the militaries and economies of the smaller countries in the region.

“It is a reality that the Indo-Pacific region is actually lacking in strong multilateral structures. They don't have anything of the fortitude of NATO or the European Union. The strongest institutions in Asia oftentimes are not inclusive enough. There is certainly an invitation there at some point to formalize a structure like this,” ANI quoted him saying.