Editorial | Nato bid to extend its reach to Asia-Pacific is fraught with risk

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was established after World War II to build a collective security pact for Europe with members agreeing to defend each other if attacked by a third party. For decades during the Cold War, the third party role was filled by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, and after its collapse, by Russia.

The Kremlin’s two-year war on Ukraine is the biggest threat to European security in years, and as it drags on has prompted Nato to cast its net more widely in the hunt for perceived threats.

That hunt has unfortunately led to Asia. For the first time, Nato issued a direct warning to China over its alleged assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine.

In a blunt joint declaration at a meeting of its 32 members in Washington, the alliance called Beijing a “decisive enabler” of Moscow and called on China to cease “all material and political support to Russia’s war effort”. Nato says China sends dual-use items such as microelectronics that Russia needs to build weapons like missiles, bombs and aircraft for use against Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi rejected the accusations and urged Nato not to “incite confrontation with China” or interfere in Asia.

The Nato accusations were levelled with little in the way of evidence and appear to ignore China’s moves to tighten export controls. Beijing in September placed controls barring exports of drones with potential military applications without authorisation.