Is Asian NATO On Cards? NATO Summit Madrid – 2022

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NATO

NATO or North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty (Washington treaty) which was signed on 4 April 1949.
NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by a non-member.
NATO’s headquarters are located Brussels, Belgium.

NATO members assembled for the Madrid Summit on 29 June 2022.
The Allied leaders were joined by some of NATO’s closest partners to address global challenges.
Indo-Pacific partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea participated in a NATO Summit for the first time.
The European Union and Georgia also took part in the meeting, as did Finland and Sweden, who have today been invited to become NATO members.

For India, it is natural to be neutral between its old friend Russia and its newfound partners in North America and Europe.
The new engagement of Asian nations with NATO does not mean we have Asian NATO already.
- Japan and South Korea are two of China’s most important East Asian neighbours sharing deep cultural and civilisational bonds as well as massive commercial relationships with Beijing. Australia and New Zealand are also deeply tied to the Chinese economy. Moreover, all four are members of the China-led RCEP.
Nonetheless, India would welcome more interest and investment in Indo-Pacific which is mostly directed to marginalize the Chinese clout in the region.