The United States can definitely create an Asian version of NATO, if it could not, then President Joe Biden would not have rashly made such statements, Jia Wenshan, head of the Institute for Research on Global Competencies at Shandong University, told RIA Novosti.
Earlier, Biden announced plans to increase the US military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, similar to NATO in Europe.
“The US can definitely create an Asian version of NATO, if it could not, then President Biden would not have rashly made such statements during his address. Since he said so, he must have reached agreements with other countries, for example, with Australia and Japan”, – the analyst said.
In his opinion, if the Indo-Pacific Alliance is modernized to an Asian version of NATO, the number of participating countries is likely to expand.
“In the next phase, Biden could expand the Indo-Pacific Alliance into a military alliance involving even more Asian countries”, – he said.
At the same time, he added, Japan and India, taking into account the possible sharp reaction of Russia, China and other countries, are trying not to make loud statements on this matter.
According to the analyst, it should be borne in mind that NATO at one time had to prepare for a war with the Soviet Union, and therefore, faced with the Asian version of NATO, it is necessary to prevent it from realizing various possibilities, including the outbreak of war.
Jia Wenshan noted that the United States may not confine itself to unleashing a “cold” war with China, but also seriously prepare to unleash a “hot war” with China and other countries.
At the same time, he cited the opinion of other scholars who believe that China, in contrast to the influence of the United States, should strengthen regional cooperation and exchanges in the economy, culture and education, promote cooperation within the framework of ASEAN, SCO and other Asian international organizations, and promote prosperity and development of the region.
“China is the largest trading partner of many Asian countries, including Australia, India, Japan, but since the United States has driven a wedge between them, they began to see China as their main threat. It will be a shame if development continues in accordance with the US strategy, then the 21st century is not only It is unlikely to become the century of Asia, but it will become the century of militarization and conflicts arising one after another”, – the expert believes.
In his opinion, the strategy proposed by Biden is directed against the concept of a community of the common destiny of mankind put forward by China; it is extremely unconstructive for understanding the trends of cooperation and development in Asia.
“China must do everything it can to avoid turning Asia into a new arena for military action”, – he added.
In fact, he stressed, everyone has already seen the “showcase of democracy” created by the United States in the Middle East and the catastrophe that they have brought to humanity.
“Consequently, if Asian countries achieve more progress and development, it will be more difficult for Washington to drag them into the Asian version of NATO”, – the expert believes.