NATO’s Asian enlistment
Jens Stoltenberg is very busy these days. The NATO secretary general is in East Asia, where he is expanding the spectrum of partnerships of the Atlantic Alliance. TO Seoul he asked South Korea to supply Ukraine with arms, in effect pressing for a revision that would be historic of the South Korean regulations that prevent the export of arms to countries involved in a conflict at the time. TO Tokyowhere he visited a military base, announced the elevation of bilateral ties and pointed out: “This war is not only a European crisis, but a challenge to the world order”.
Stoltenberg’s attempt is clear, to involve the countries of East Asia in the NATO scheme from an anti-Chinese perspective. “Beijing is watching closely and learning lessons that could influence its future decisions. What happens in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow”Indeed, Stoltenberg warned. According to Beijing, the plan would be to formalize a new cold war or even widen the conflict in the East.
The race for the post Stoltenberg: the women of the Baltic are favoured
But beyond the Asian visits, in the meantime the race for a fundamental appointment for the future of NATO has already begun. The next SeptemberIndeed, the extension of Stoltenberg’s mandate as general secretary will expire and a new leader of the Atlantic Alliance will therefore have to be appointed. A role that is or was very coveted even by the former prime minister Mario Draghivery careful to maintain a close relationship with the United States and with Joe Biden’s White House, so much so that he was awarded for the promotion of bilateral relations.
Still, the favorite would not be him. According to Politico, the next secretary general could come from Eastern Europe. Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there was momentum for the Alliance to select a Secretary General from the East. And the war would have strengthened the hypothesis of a person coming from a country like Estonia or Lithuania, in order to make the countries most exposed to what is happening in Ukraine feel more represented and therefore protected.
Furthermore, according to Politico, there is the intention to nominate a woman. This is why the Estonian premier’s hypotheses seem particularly hot Kaja Kallas or the Lithuanian one Ingrida Šimonytė. The two Baltic countries are in the very front line and a possible next target of Moscow in case the war widens. Not even the prices of the Slovak president are low Zuzana Čaputováa decidedly pro-European policy which with his appointment changed the internal balance in Visegrad.
However, the game is not over and there are many contenders. Starting with the Dutch premier Mark Rutte, which has just accepted the pressure from the United States by introducing additional controls on the export of advanced technology for the production of semiconductors to China. Or the British Defense Minister Ben Wallace.
The Ursula hypothesis with Draghi at the EU Commission
But there is also another way. It would be that of a second extension of Stoltenberg’s mandate. But giving the Norwegian a short extension could cause a future replacement decision to collide with the competition for the top jobs in the European Union in 2024, not to mention the upcoming US presidential election. Circumstance that several allies would like to avoid.
There are also those who mention the name of the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The German could be replaced in the Commission by Draghi to head the European Commission from 2024. SuperMario would thus lose NATO but would gain the highest seat in the European Union.
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