[Washington Examiner] China’s growing military power holds potential dangers for the transatlantic alliance, according to NATO’s civilian chief."China is investing massively in new weapons," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday. "It is coming closer to us, from the Arctic to Africa, and by investing in our infrastructure."
That unease spurred the foreign ministers of the alliance to dedicate a session of their annual meeting, held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, to the rising communist power. The dialogue took place as Stoltenberg is orchestrating a NATO Reflection Group to identify the transatlantic alliance’s priorities over the next decade — an effort that Stoltenberg hopes will culminate in a visit from President-elect Joe Biden in the spring.
"That’s the best way for all allies’ heads of state and government to meet, to sit down," he said. "And at that summit, I will also put forward my proposals on how to continue to strengthen and continue to adapt NATO as an agile and strong alliance."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s team put an emphasis on China’s anti-satellite weaponry, which could be used to sever military communications in a conflict and cripple Western economies.
"China is very active in space, and there needs to be a lot of work in space to make sure that we have, hopefully, an ability to see where satellites are and determine what our deterrence and defense capabilities can be to assure that those cannot be used against us — against any of us," U.S. Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison said Monday. "That’s just one area."