Brussels: The NATO alliance will send its top military chief to Australia for talks on global security including the rise of China, in a sign of growing concern that threats in Asia will have consequences in Europe.
The chair of the NATO military committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, plans to visit Australia later this year after citing the use of North Korean troops in Ukraine as one example of the way partner nations needed to work across regions to confront dangers.
He revealed the plan at the conclusion of a two-day military gathering where NATO commanders declared full support for the alliance, despite the political clash over US President Donald Trump and his bid for control of Greenland.
“Security is not any more regional – it’s global,” Admiral Dragone said of his plan to visit Australia and other countries in the region.
“Every event there has some effect here, and vice versa.”
Australia joined the meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels by sending the Chief of the Defence Force, Admiral David Johnston, to speak at a session along with military chiefs from Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
The four nations from the Indo-Pacific are known as the IP4 and work with NATO as partner states rather than members, so they share intelligence and conduct joint military operations without being bound by the pact.
Trump’s push to control Greenland overshadowed the meeting in Brussels, where top officers from every NATO country gathered to discuss military strategy at the headquarters in the Belgian capital, while television screens showed the US president complaining about whether allies did enough to help the US.
Asked about the dispute over Trump and his demands, Dragone said the military talks went ahead in an “uneventful” way, separate from the political discussions. He said there was no guidance from political leaders on the “framework” Trump has spoken about for the US and Greenland.
The most senior American at the NATO gathering, General Alexus Grynkewich, who is the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, avoided comment on Trump’s push for Greenland, but he publicly backed the longstanding NATO provision – Article 5 of the pact – that says an attack on one member is seen as an attack on all.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Grynkewich said the US commitment to Article 5 was “ironclad”.
Dragone’s plan to visit Australia comes at a time when the rise of China is a key concern, especially after Chinese ships circumnavigated Australia and conducted a live-fire exercise in the Tasman Sea last year.
The opening of sea routes through the Arctic, allowing faster access from the Pacific to the Atlantic through northern passages previously sealed by ice, is one factor in the NATO talks with Australia and others.
Johnston named the Chinese naval operations as a significant issue in a formal statement after the talks in Brussels, where he joined military commanders from all NATO members as well as Ukraine, Georgia and the IP4.
He pointed to the circumnavigation of Australia by a Chinese naval group early last year, which made headlines when the ships conducted a live-fire exercise beneath a major flight path between Australia and New Zealand.
He also cited the later deployment of a Chinese amphibious task group at the end of last year, calling the two cases examples of China’s willingness to “project their military power” closer to Australian shores.
“These actions do not just impact Europe or the Pacific,” he said. “They impact all of us, and embolden those who wish to disrupt and dismantle the rules and norms that have defined us since the end of the Second World War.”
“While Australia’s primary focus is on the Indo-Pacific, my counterparts and I will continue to work with each other to understand how our regions affect and shape our shared challenges.”
Australia’s most recent operation with European partners was the deployment of a Wedgetail aircraft to Poland to monitor Russian activity along the NATO border with Ukraine.
The Royal Australian Air Force spy plane is regarded as one of the most advanced in the world – several NATO members have older versions – and the operation was the first time an Australian aircraft had connected its surveillance systems directly into NATO systems.
As a result, NATO commanders could “see” the aerial battlefield through the eyes of the RAAF surveillance equipment. When the deployment ended late last year, a Turkish aircraft took up the same role.
Australian forces share intelligence with NATO, but do not disclose the nature of the information. Chinese operations are a known area of concern, however, given the rapid expansion of the Chinese navy and the way this results in deployments that send its ships further afield for longer periods.
Chinese ships have begun operating in the Gulf of Guinea in Africa and in the Middle East, as well as circling Australia.
Admiral Dragone named cyber warfare as another example of an area where NATO could share knowledge with partners in the Indo-Pacific.
His visit to Australia is expected to take place in August, subject to developments, along with a visit to New Zealand.
Admiral Johnston said the NATO partnership generated an “irreplaceable military advantage” in what he called a “troubled” security environment.
“When we put our partnerships into action, we are all more aware and alert to threats, more prepared, and more powerful,” he said. “This shared strength is a formidable deterrent, and when the worst happens, puts us all in the most strategically advantageous position to defend our countries and our interests.”
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