NATO ‘Door Open’ For India For More Engagement, Not Membership: US' NATO Envoy Smith
US Permanent Representative to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Julianne Smith Friday said India plays a crucial role in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific that aligns with the alliance.
New Delhi: US Ambassador to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Julianne Smith Friday said the “door is open” for India if New Delhi intends to engage with the military alliance, even as bringing the country onboard as a member is not being considered at present.
Responding to a query by ABP Live, Smith made it clear that while the Brussels-based military alliance is keen on engaging more with New Delhi after a preliminary meeting NATO had with the Indian government in early March.
“Membership is not something that we’ve really considered with anyone in the Indo-Pacific or Asia-Pacific. The alliance remains a Euro-Atlantic military alliance. Its door is open to this region. But there are no plans by the alliance to expand this to a broader global military alliance,” the US Ambassador to NATO told ABP Live.
She added: “In terms of a future with India, I think NATO’s door is open in terms of engagement should India be interested. But we would not want to, at this stage, invite them to a NATO ministerial until we knew more about their interest in engaging the alliance more broadly.”
On April 4-5, NATO is holding a meeting of foreign ministers of the member countries that will take place in Brussels in which US’ Indo-Pacific partners such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea have been invited. This will be followed by the NATO Summit in Lithuania on July 11-12.
These four countries have been invited separately because they have formally established partnerships with NATO and “work closely” with the alliance on “shared security challenges”, Smith said while addressing a select group of journalists virtually.
NATO currently has 30 members and any decision to invite a country to join the alliance is taken by the North Atlantic Council, which is its principal political decision-making body, on the basis of consensus among all allies. Sweden and Finland are expected to become members of the military alliance soon.
Smith said the meeting between NATO officials and Indian government representatives were “informal” in nature but it was nevertheless some kind of a “start and opened up conversations”.
“Certainly, the NATO alliance is open to more engagement should India seek that. NATO currently has pretty different partners around the world and each individual partnership is different. Some come through the door seeking different levels of political engagement or sometimes more interested in interoperability or standardization questions,” said Smith.
She added: “The message that has been sent to India is that the NATO alliance certainly is open to more engagement with India should that country take an interest in pursuing that.”
Smith added: “India certainly plays a crucial role in ensuring a free and open (Indo-Pacific) region that’s prosperous, secure and resilient as well and this of course aligns perfectly with the values that we are here to preserve and protect inside the NATO alliance particularly as we address 21st century threats whether its climate or pandemic, hybrid tactics and war, resilience or new domains such as cyberspace or even if its traditional areas like proliferation and maritime security."
‘China A Systemic Challenge; Ukraine Has United NATO’
Smith also shed light on the fact that the NATO of late has expanded its outreach with US’ friends and partners in the Asia-Pacific and the Indo-Pacific region while acknowledging the fact that China has become a “systemic challenge” for the alliance.
She said NATO is also watching closely the growing relationship between China and Russia, and Beijing’s “political support” to Moscow for the ongoing war.
“This is being monitored and increasingly becoming part of the conversation (within NATO),” Smith said, adding, “both the countries have the same playbook of hybrid tactics.”
This is the reason why NATO is now increasingly bringing some of America’s key partners in the Indo-Pacific to its headquarters, crucial ministerial meetings, into the North Atlantic Council as well as in Summit meetings.
“President (Joe) Biden is increasingly interested in bringing together America’s allies across the Atlantic and Pacific to bring about a collective opportunity for us to share ways to counter hybrid tactics,” Smith said.
On NATO becoming united, Smith underscored: “Ukraine (Russia-Ukraine war) has brought this alliance together and it has really enhanced our partnerships with countries. We now have Sweden and Finland who have decided to join.”
She added: “Others countries aren’t necessarily joining but are looking to enhance the relationship. I think we will look back at 2022 and 2023 as pivotal moments of this alliance in a renewed sense of purpose and common sense of mission."
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