NATO plans to increase alliance’s involvement in Asia-Pacific affairs — Rutte

NATO countries are planning to increase the alliance's involvement in the affairs of the Asia-Pacific region (APR). Such a wish was expressed by the US administration, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said.

"The US wants NATO to be more involved (in the region) ... in a sense of projecting power," Rutte told The Japan Times. The secretary-general said North Atlantic Alliance member-states would "support the US in its pivot toward Asia."

Rutte emphasized that Washington has clearly stated that it wants the help of NATO allies in implementing the strategy of "projecting collective power" in the Asia-Pacific region. In this case, he said, its driving force will be, of course, the United States. NATO secretary-general also clarified that it is not a question of extending Article 5 of the NATO Charter to its Asian allies.

Article 5 of the NATO Charter stipulates that "an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all. In this case, each state undertakes to implement retaliatory actions, "including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area."

As Rutte makes his debut trip to Asia, he is aiming to take the alliance's ties with its four Indo-Pacific (IP4) partners — Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand — to the next level through greater defense-industrial cooperation and information sharing.