Growing political and military cooperation between Russia and China poses “new dangers” for NATO and threatens multilateralism, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview published Tuesday (8 June). “The rules-based order, the basis of multilateralism, is under threat,” the head of the military alliance said, warning that “Russia and China have been cooperating more and more recently, both at a political and a military level. This is a new dimension and a serious challenge for NATO. New dangers are arising.“ Stoltenberg also noted that both countries are increasingly coordinating their respective positions in decisions taken in multilateral organisations like the UN. “In addition, both countries conduct joint military exercises, test long-range flights with fighter planes and (conduct) maritime operations together, but also carry out an intense exchange of experiences on weapons systems and internet control.”
In response, he stressed that NATO “must adapt to an increasingly competitive global security environment”. But Stoltenberg also said “we do not consider China as an enemy” but said it “does not share our values — it does not believe in democracy, in freedom of speech or freedom of the media”. Regarding China, he said that it “is very active in Africa, in the Western Balkans and the Arctic. It makes massive investments in key infrastructure in Europe. In cyberspace, China is a key player. All this has a huge impact on our security.” Then with Russia, NATO takes a dual approach — “deterrence and dialogue”, he noted. “Our troops are present on rotation in the Baltic, in Poland and in Romania, and we have new models of intervention, so that in the event of a crisis, additional NATO contingents can arrive quickly,” Stoltenberg said. “We are naturally ready, in case of emergency, to protect and defend every ally from any kind of threat from Minsk and Moscow,” he said.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has warned that an AI arms race is already underway. The world is entering a new era of warfare, with artificial intelligence taking center stage. AI is making militaries faster, smarter and more efficient. But if left unchecked, it threatens to destabilize the world. “We’re right in the middle of it. That’s the reality we have to deal with,” Maas told DW. It’s a reality at the heart of the struggle for supremacy between the world’s greatest powers. “This is a race that cuts across the military and the civilian fields,” said Amandeep Singh Gill, former chair of the United Nations group of governmental experts on lethal autonomous weapons. This is also apparent in a recent report from the US’ National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence that warns of a”new warfighting paradigm” pitting “algorithms against algorithms,” while urging massive investments “to continuously out-innovate potential adversaries.” “The world must take an interest in the fact that we’re moving toward a situation with cyber or autonomous weapons where everyone can do as they please,” said Maas. “We don’t want that.”
