Trump's 'NATO Shaking' Weakens Standing... Influence Declines
Poland and Other Eastern European Countries Begin Self-Reliance with the US
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] NATO, which has continued for over 70 years, has been engulfed in 'uselessness theory' due to President Donald Trump's erratic foreign policy. The influence of NATO is rapidly declining as the United States signs separate defense agreements with NATO member countries Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland. NATO has also been criticized for standing by passively during anti-government protests demanding the resignation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, located between Russia and Poland.
According to Voice of America (VOA) and others on the 23rd (local time), NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced shortly after the Belarus protests began that "there will be no military buildup in the region." Although he said they are closely monitoring the situation, it was interpreted that NATO was overly conscious of Russia, which supports the Belarus regime. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously raised the warning level, stating, "Western countries' interference in Belarus' internal affairs is unacceptable. If necessary, we will provide military support based on the collective security treaty with Belarus," but NATO's response was lukewarm.
The dominant view is that NATO's stature began to decline even before the Belarus crisis. Eastern European countries such as Poland are focusing on strengthening security through direct connections with the United States rather than the collective NATO system. Poland became the third country in Eastern Europe to sign a defense agreement with the U.S. Polish President Andrzej Duda said the agreement "will also contribute to strengthening the security of other countries in our region of Europe," but with some U.S. troops relocating from Germany to Poland, security concerns in Germany have increased. Poland is particularly taking a different path from NATO, having signed a contract to purchase F-35 fighter jets from the U.S. last February.
The main reason NATO has become virtually useless is the reduction of military spending by Western European countries, which are the core of NATO. According to the U.S. military media Defense News, most Eastern European countries bordering Russia, such as Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, increased their defense budgets by more than 20% amid security concerns following Russia's forced annexation of Crimea in 2014. Most countries maintain defense spending above 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In contrast, Western European countries remain at around 1%. Last year, defense spending as a percentage of GDP was 1.8% for France, 1.4% for Germany, 1.2% for Italy, and 0.9% for Spain. Eastern European countries complain that Western Europe is shifting the responsibility of defense against Russia onto them.
NATO is also failing to properly resolve internal disputes. According to the BBC, while NATO members Greece and Turkey are engaged in a maritime sovereignty dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean, France's declaration to increase its troops stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean is further escalating tensions.
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