How is NATO Approaching China’s Security Challenge?

This episode of Global Security Briefing explores NATO's interest in China and the Indo-Pacific amid ongoing security challenges in Europe.

At last month’s NATO summit in Washington, DC, China was identified as a ‘decisive enabler’ of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It was also noted that China ‘continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security’.

Many argue that the principal need is for NATO to concentrate on Europe. This is not just because of the Russo-Ukrainian war, but also because the US is focusing on China as its principal adversary, which will likely lead to Washington shifting more of the burden for European security to European allies. The construction of a ‘European pillar of NATO’ that can deter Russia is already a tall order.

Is it realistic for Europeans to get involved in security issues on the other side of the world on top of that? And why are Asian countries interested in being linked more closely to NATO? This week, host Neil Melvin is joined by Dr Philip Shetler-Jones, RUSI Senior Research Fellow for Indo-Pacific Security, to answer these questions and more.

This episode is brought to you as part of a research initiative at RUSI that looks at evolving transatlantic cooperation on China supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.