By Takuya Karube,
NATO and its four Indo-Pacific partners -- Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea -- will launch four new joint projects relating to Ukraine, artificial intelligence, disinformation and cybersecurity, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday.
Speaking at an event in Washington before the start of a NATO summit commemorating the 75th anniversary of the transatlantic alliance, Sullivan underscored that ties between the United States, Europe and the Indo-Pacific region have never been more important or more integrated than at present.
"What happens in Europe impacts the Indo-Pacific. What happens in the Indo-Pacific impacts Europe. We see this every day," he said, citing security challenges such as North Korea providing ballistic missiles for Russia to use against Ukraine.
Without going into detail about the four initiatives, he said each will be different while sharing the same primary goal to "harness the unique strengths of highly capable democracies to address shared global challenges."
Top agenda items at the three-day summit include additional support for Ukraine and broader cooperation with the Indo-Pacific partners against the backdrop of China's military rise.
But U.S. President Joe Biden, who is hosting the event, is arguably drawing more attention as doubts have mounted at home and abroad over his physical and mental fitness to run for a second term in the November election.
Following Biden's shaky performance in a television debate against his predecessor Donald Trump on June 27, the world's media and officials from various countries are almost certain to be watching every word and deed of the 81-year-old incumbent closely.
"Today, NATO is stronger than it's ever been in its history," Biden said in his remarks to kick off the summit in a Washington auditorium, where the signing of the treaty establishing the Western collective defense system, initially with a 12-country membership, took place in 1949.
"Again and again at critical moments, we chose unity over disunion, progress over retreat, freedom over tyranny, hope over fear," said Biden, who presented as a much more forceful figure, though with a teleprompter, compared to the debate in which he faltered in his delivery.
With four months to go in his reelection campaign, Biden administration officials have suggested that his leadership in bolstering multilateralism, such as by helping expand NATO to 32 members since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, deserves recognition.
Still, such hopes could be dashed by growing calls for Biden to drop out of the presidential race, even from some members of his own party, with all eyes turning to his performance in a solo press conference he is set to hold Thursday afternoon to cap off the summit.
On Ukraine, which is seeking NATO membership, the leaders are poised to announce a set of new measures aimed at shoring up near- and long-term support for the war-torn country, according to NATO officials.
The steps include setting up a new command in Wiesbaden, Germany, to coordinate the training of Ukrainian troops as well as stationing a civilian as NATO's senior representative in Kyiv to help facilitate communications between the alliance and Ukrainian authorities.
The command, also designed to help coordinate the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine, will be led by a three-star general and likely staffed by about 700 personnel, the officials said.
NATO is also set to pledge at least 40 billion euros ($43 billion) in support of Ukraine next year and announce plans to bolster the country's air defense against Russia through the provision of more F-16 fighters, according to the officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are among the leaders of non-NATO members gathering in the U.S. capital.
Before Biden's speech, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Russia winning the war will not only embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin but also "other authoritarian leaders in Iran, North Korea and China."
"So the outcome of this war will shape global security for decades to come," he said. "The time to stand for freedom and democracy is now."
On Thursday morning, NATO is due to hold a meeting with its Indo-Pacific partners and the European Union to discuss their mutual interests, such as China's deepening ties with Russia, cyber defense and outer space.
As in the last two years, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea have been invited to join the NATO summit.
At last year's summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, NATO said in a communique, "China's stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values."
