“The secretary reaffirmed the president’s message that the United States intends to revitalize our relationship with the alliance,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters about the message Austin delivered at a NATO virtual ministerial meeting that is occurring on Wednesday and Thursday.
“Secretary Austin emphasized that NATO’s most important task is to protect our populations and territories, featuring a reliable deterrent and a strong army,” added Kirby.
Austin went beyond traditional issues, emphasizing that NATO needs to protect supply chains and technologies from “strategic competitors,” said Kirby. The implication was clear that it is time to worry more about China and, particularly, Russia.
“For the Department of Defense, this means putting in place a credible force, ready to support diplomacy’s hard work. It also means working closely with our allies and partners to protect our common interests and promote our shared values abroad. , we cannot fulfill our responsibilities alone, nor should we try, ”wrote Austin.
“I would not expect specific decisions at this meeting,” a senior defense official familiar with Austin’s thinking told CNN. Instead, he plans to consult with allies before the United States makes final decisions, in contrast to Trump’s attitude of going it alone.
Putin warning
Austin is making it clear that he knows that NATO’s main rival – Vladimir Putin’s Russia – is not waiting. “Aggressive and coercive behaviors by encouraged strategic competitors, such as China and Russia, reinforce our belief in collective security,” wrote Austin in his Washington Post article.
“It is very evident that Russia is a threat to all NATO allies, including the United States. Russia erodes transparency and predictability. They are using military force to achieve their goals. They support proxy groups and sow the chaos and doubt, and undermine international order rules, “said a second defense official involved in US preparations for the ministerial meeting. “So this government has already made it clear that we will work with Russia to promote our own interests and, at the same time, hold them accountable for their reckless and aggressive actions. Therefore, we are looking forward to discussing this with our allies this week.”
Russia’s cyber attacks remain at the top of the list of concerns. NATO is now bringing other nations into its closed-door discussions on how to deal with this threat.
Open Russian military movements are also causing concern. Moscow is stepping up military activities in northeastern Syria, where the United States still has 900 troops. There are concerns that the Russians do not follow long-agreed procedures to stay away from US areas, several defense officials said.
And the US and Russia are vying for position and presence in the resource-rich Arctic. At the end of the month, B-1 bombers will begin flying out of Norway for the first time on Russia’s west coast. Russian news agency Tass reported that two Russian strategic Tu-160 bombers flew over the international waters of the seas of Barents, Greenland and Norway earlier this month.
NATO has also reported on several air meetings with Russia in the past few days. NATO fighter planes from Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey on February 10 flew in response to several Russian long-range bombers Tu-22 and fighter jets flying close to NATO territory above the Black Sea. The Russian aircraft flew without transmitting a transponder code and did not indicate its position, altitude or presented a flight plan.
Maintaining a robust number of American troops in Germany and more deeply on NATO’s eastern flank through rotating troops in Romania, Poland and even Ukraine for exercises and training would send a clear message to contain Putin, officials say. Biden has already suspended the withdrawal of troops from Germany pending a review, and Ukraine publicly says it will build two new naval bases.
US officials say the approach to the NATO meeting aims to send a clear message to Moscow that the US is back in the group and that more action is to come.