MAGGIO 2021
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MENSILE DELLA MARINA MILITARE DAL 1868
NATO e UE nei nuovi scenari di sicurezza. Quale rapporto? Giampaolo Di Paola
Evoluzione della NATO: dal 1949 verso il futuro Alessandro Minuto Rizzo
PRIMO PIANO
NATO and UE in new security scenarios. What type of relationship?
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NATO and UE in new security scenarios. What type of relationship?
Giampaolo Di Paola Admiral (ret). Born in Torre Annunziata (NA) on August 15 1944, he entered the Naval Academy in 1963. After specializing at the Submarine School from 1968 to 1974 he served in various positions aboard submarines and naval units, including as commander of the Garibaldi (Landing Helicopter Assault) in 1989-90. He attended NATO Defense College in Rome (Italy) and from 1981 to 1984 he served in Saclant (Norfolk-Virginia, United States). He held important and prestigious positions in the Navy Staff in 1994, after which he became head of the Military Policy Department of the Defence Staff and on November 30, 1998 head of the Cabinet of the Minister of Defence. Secretary General of Defence on March 26, 2001, he held office until March 10, 2004 when he was promoted to Chief of the Defence Staff, a position he held until February 12, 2008 when he was appointed chairman of the NATO Military Committee, composed of the Chiefs of Staff of the twenty-six countries of the alliance. On November 16, 2011 he was appointed Minister of Defence of the Italian Republic and in this role he also held the position of Chancellor and Treasurer of the Military Order of Italy. ARTICLE PUBLISHED AT THE INVITATION OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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t seems as if a century had passed, yet it has only been a year or so since Donald Trump, the US President at the time, claimed that NATO was obsolete, while French President Macron declared it to be experiencing brain death. On the contrary, the Atlantic Alliance would appear to be not only in good form but also very cerebrally active and on the road to reconsidering itself. Furthermore, the new security scenarios on the one hand and the new US presidency on the other call for a reconsideration and a renewed reflection on the strategy of the Alliance. NATO Secretary General (SG), Norwegian Jan Stoltenberg, has long called the allies to a new vision of the Alliance, a vision that he called “Alliance 2030” and which he outlined, in numerous public statements, based on the following three cornerstones: — a NATO that continues to be a solid and strong military alliance; that is an Alliance which can invest to a greater extent in its defence, equipped with modern capabilities in an era in which, with the emergence of new dis-
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ruptive technologies - such as Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, new nanotechnologies, and unmanned and hypersonic weapon systems - we are witnessing the advent of a new revolution in Military Affairs which led the Americans to coin the term “Hyperwarfare”, that is, conducting operations at speeds and with decision-making times and very short action/reaction that would have been previously unthinkable; — a NATO that boasts a strengthened political alliance; because NATO is the only place where European and North Atlantic countries meet and work together on a daily basis. Therefore, it behoves us to strengthen this organization and to increasingly use the Alliance as a forum for frank political confrontation on all issues relating to security (from potential Russian challenges, to the Middle East, to Africa and, last but not least, to China the impact of its growth as a global power on our security); — a NATO with a more global approach, because despite being a regional Alliance, the challenges it faces are increasingly global. Cyber threats, Russian assertiveness, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, pandemics, climate change and China, whose rise is radically changing the balance of Power, shifting the geopolitical centre of gravity from the Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific. China is a systemic competitor in terms of political, economic and “NATO and the European Union have begun a reflection and analysis process that will bring about a renewal and better adaptation to the future in order to better respond to the challenges and threats of the new geopolitical and geostrategic context” (Heading image source: repubblica.it and iss.europa.eu). Below: NATO Secretary General Jan Stoltenberg who “has long called the allies to a new vision of the Alliance”. Photographed together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (EC).
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NATO and UE in new security scenarios. What type of relationship?
value structure and, broadly speaking, a challenge to our security and to our technological leadership, a challenge that requires a collective and coordinated approach between Europe and the United States to increase our competitiveness and resilience and defend a liberal global order based on the Rule of Law. Based upon this vision and on the mandate of the
Diplomat and senior US official A. Wess Mitchell (useu.usmission.gov) who co-chairs, along with German politician and former German Minister of Interior and Defence Thomas de Maizière (opposite) (financialtribune.com), the small advisory committee set up in early 2020 to reflect and make proposals on the NATO of the future.
Heads of State and Government of the Alliance, in early 2020 the NATO created a small advisory committee (which includes Italian Marta Dassù) to reflect and make proposals on the NATO of the future, a reflection that would constitute the basis for establishing a new “Strategic Concept of the Alliance” to replace the one currently in force, approved in Lisbon in 2010 and which no longer reflects the current and future strategic context, in which Russia has once more become a global player with power projection on a global — and no longer regional — scale, (and no longer a strategic partner as it was in the first decade of this century), and China has emerged as a new systemic rival. The result of the work of the advisory committee, co-chaired by American A. Wess Mitchell (diplomat and senior US official) and by German Thomas de Maizière (former German Minister of Interior and Defence) was set forth in a substantial report presented to the NATO SG and member countries in November 2020 entitled: NATO 2030 - United for a new Era.
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As Marta Dassù reminds us in an article written for the Aspen Institute (1), the “vision” and conclusions of the report may be summarized in the following three key messages: - first: the security context in which NATO operates has greatly changed since 2010 and is dominated by competition between great powers and increased global risks and requires a new strategic concept. Russian assertiveness, has become more pronounced and dangerous (Georgia, Crimea, Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Belarus, the poisonings of Skripal and Navalny and more recently, and as far as Italy and the Italian Armed Forces, are concerned the case of alleged military espionage). Simultaneously, China has peremptorily emerged as a systemic “rival”; the southern flank is being ravaged by numerous conflicts, and disruptive technological revolution is having a destructive impact on the security environment. The conclusion that can be drawn from this analysis is that NATO must acquire a global perspective in order to remain relevant to the security of its member countries and to contribute to international stability. This means having a more comprehensive approach to security which, for example, strengthens the partnership with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India. It is interesting to observe how this reflection recalls
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NATO and UE in new security scenarios. What type of relationship?
This potential risk lead us to the third key message; and is in accord with the position recently taken by the - third: the relationship between NATO and the EuUnited States under the Biden presidency to re-estabropean Union is absolutely central and essential. The lish collaboration between the democracies of the Indodevelopment of an effective and efficient European dePacific, the so-called Quad (Quadrilateral Security fence dimension must certainly be encouraged, howDialogue, United States, Japan, Australia and India) (2) ever within a framework of complete sinergy and in terms of competition and containment of China. complementarity with NATO and in a context of Similarly, in addition to confronting Russia with an effective deterrent, NATO will have to address the ongoing threat of terrorism, the emergence of new challenges and risks in the Arctic region and the instability of the Southern European flank, because as the report states “when NATO’s Southern Neighborhood js more stable, NATO is more secure”; - second: the second decade of this century saw the growth of authoritarian powers whose aim is to weaken Western democracies and the liberal-democratic global The leaders of the Quadrilater Security Dialogue (QUAD) have recently re-established collaboration order that has been consolidated between Indo-Pacific democracies. From left: Indian Prime Minister Nerendra Modi, the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, the Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, and Scott Morrison, Prime in the last seventy years, since the Minister of Australia (yahoo.com). end of the Second World War. stronger istitutional and political ties between the two But beyond that, the security of NATO allies is being organizations without exclusion or exceptionist for subjected to global threats stemming from climate non-Eu European NATO countries. change, pandemics and the dangers of malicious use This last key message of reflection concerning (malware) of the cyber domain. In essence, we are livNATO brings us to the European perspective on the seing in an era of strategic simultaneity, where security curity dimension. threats and challenges are multidimensional. The secIt is clear that Macron’s claim that NATO was “exond key message is based on this observation, namely periencing brain death” was a hyperbole of controversy that NATO, while remaining a strong military Alliance, aimed at awakening the EU and its members from what in order to gain and maintain public support of the cithe believed to be strategic lethargy. Moreover, Macron izens of the Alliance, that is vital in democracy, must himself, on February 19, 2020, in his speech at the spealso actively support the aspect of “Human Security” cial remote edition of the traditional Munich Security and resilience of our democratic societies. Conference, stated: “I do believe in NATO, I do believe Consequently, a new chapter continuous adaptaNATO needs a new political momentum and clarification of the Alliance, a chapter that is needed in order tion of its strategic concept”(3). to avoid the risk of decoupling in the assessment of As a matter of fact, starting from the approval of the the challenges, risks and threats between the US, foGlobal Strategy for the EU’s Foreign and Security Polcused on the Asia-Pacific region (the famous “pivot icy in June 2016, where, for the first time ever, some to Asia” pursued by the Obama administration), and reference was made to the concept of strategic autonthe European allies, essentially focused on European omy and to “the EU need for to be strengthened as a theatre and neighborhood.
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NATO and UE in new security scenarios. What type of relationship?
security community: European security and defence efforts should enable the EU to act autonomously while also contributing in undertaking actions in cooperation with NATO”, the EU has begun a progressive path of institutional and operational strengthening of its capabilities in the security dimension. I am referring to PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation) but also to the European Defence Fund which, for the first time ever in the history of the Union, allocates common resources for technological research and the development of military capabilities in the Defence sector of the order of approximately 8 billion euros in 5 years, certainly not much but it’s a start. However, in the face of a Union that was still proceeding timidly both with regard to political will and in terms of Defence capabilities, Macron relaunched the initiative for a strong strategic autonomy of the Union in the field of security with the acquisition of important High End military capabilities to be developed and acquired in Europe also through the consolidation and strengthening of the European defence industrial base. This French vision was recently reiterated by President Macron in his speech at the aforementioned Munich Security Conference last February during which he stated: “the concept of strategic autonomy for Europe does not mean an attempt to distance Europe from the United States damaging NATO, but actually the opposite, because if you look at the issue of “burden sharing” in the Alliance, you will see how a large part of the investments and commitments are incurred by the United States. I think that this (the strategic autonomy of the Union) is the way to rebalance the transatlantic relationship and prove to our American ally and friend that we (the Europeans) are a reliable and responsible partner and I also believe that having a European Union that invests much more in defence makes us much more credible as members of NATO”(4). However, the debate on the strategic autonomy of the Union relaunched by France is still perceived with some reservation by Germany, which looks at a more militarily assertive and muscular policy by the Union with caution, even fear, dreading the risk of a potential decoupling from NATO and the United States, a risk that is more strongly perceived by northern and eastern
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European countries which view a strong NATO and US presence in Europe as the only guaranteed effective deterrent and defence from any possible Russian threat. Political and strategic thinking circles of the US ally appear to be of two minds regarding the issue of European strategic autonomy. Indeed, on the one hand, there is a desire to see Europeans substantially increase, both financially and operationally, their contribution to common defence, while on the other there is fear that the concept of strategic autonomy may in the long run imply, even unintentionally, a “decoupling” effect, with a consequent weakening of the Alliance. The most recent European initiative in the security sector must be framed within this context, that is, the ongoing elaboration of a “Strategic Compass” for the Union in the field of defence and security. The exercise, which is in its initial phase, should be completed within one year and has the primary aim of bestowing greater concreteness and strategic direction to the European ambition of becoming a more significant Security Player. To this end, the strategic compass will begin with the assessment of the security threats and challenges facing the Union, in order to identify concrete capabilities needed to make the Union more capable, more effective and more operationally ready and able to respond in a timely manner to crises and to provide security. The Union will have to increase its resilience also through secure access to the so-called “Global Commons” (such as: cyber, maritime spaces, space); to determine its vulnerabilities and gaps in the security and defence sector, and to increase mutual assistance and solidarity between EU member countries. Within this context, as represented by General Graziano (5), president of the European Military Committee, in his hearing on the Strategic Compass at the Senate Defence Commission in late March this year, the military component of the Union feels the need to equip itself with robust command and control systems, advanced planning capabilities, more effective force generation processes, more effective procedures for the development of military capabilities in every possible scenario, including the most demanding ones that require a Full Spectrum Force Package, that is high end military capabilities (as is said in operational military jargon).
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NATO and UE in new security scenarios. What type of relationship?
In conclusion, both NATO and the European Union have begun a reflection and analysis process that will bring about a renewal and better adaptation to the future in order to better respond to the challenges and threats of the new geopolitical and geostrategic context, which have been dealt with in the first part of this article. The mother of all challenges will be to ensure complete and strong strategic and operational coherence to the two processes so as to avoid any risk, albeit veiled and unwanted, of a decoupling of the two organizations, all the while respecting their respective decision-making autonomies and simultaneously increasing European military capabilities to a significant extent, in a European and Atlantic framework, so as to ensure that Europeans play a more significant and balanced military role and capability within the Atlantic Alliance. In this challenge, Italy (together with France, Germany as well as our British partner) can and must play an important role. Italy’s conviction and commitment, both within NATO and the transatlantic relationship, as well as in the growth of the security role of the European Union, is not only traditionally known but also above suspicion. This is particularly the case today with the current government of national unity under the leadership of Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the institutional supervision of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. Furthermore, on the operational level, the Italian Armed Forces are engaged in an important process of modernization in terms of technology and capabilities, further supported by a valid and effective industrial base. Just to name one, the following is an example. Toplevel operational capabilities such as the F-35, available today to both the Italian air and naval forces (the Cavour aircraft carrier, which is currently in the United States operating the Joint Strike Fighter, has recently been awarded this qualification), make the Italian mil-
“The top-level operational capabilities such as the F-35, available today to both the Italian air and naval forces (the Cavour aircraft carrier, which is currently in the United States operating the Joint Strike Fighter, has recently been awarded this qualification - the image depicts the aircraft on the flight deck of the unit), make the Italian military instrument a participant in a very small transatlantic elite equipped with this exclusive and advanced capability”. Alongside: the president of the Military Committee of the European Union, General Claudio Graziano according to whom “the military component of the Union feels the need to equip itself with robust command and control systems, advanced planning capabilities, more effective force generation processes, more effective procedures for the development of military capabilities in every possible scenario” (Image source: difesa.it).
itary instrument a participant in a very small transatlantic elite equipped with this exclusive and advanced capability. Furthermore, the substantial ongoing renewal of the national naval component places Italy in the position of playing a leading role in the maritime dimension both in NATO and European contexts, aspect domain that acquires even more weight and relevance in the face of the global rise of China. This military potential and capabilities rightly bestow an important role on Italy in the adaptation processes of the two organizations which we are part of and which must be supported and directed with coherent political and political-military guidance that can ensure complete and more advanced coordination, complementarity and interoperability between NATO and the European Union. In a nutshell: “more Italy in Europe, more Europe in NATO”. 8
NOTES (1) Marta Dassù, La nuova NATO e la sfida con Pechino, December 7, 2020, aspeniaonline.it, https://aspeniaonline.it/la-nuova-nato-e-la-sfida-con-pechino. (2) Roberto Menotti, Biden, il «Quad» indo-pacifico e la diplomazia costruttiva, March 15, 2021, https://aspeniaonline.it/biden-il-quad-indo-pacifico-e-la-diplomaziacostruttiva. (3) europeanaffairs.it, February 21, 2020, https://www.europeanaffairs.it/blog/2020/02/21/conferenza-di-monaco-macron-guarda-ad-oriente. (4) europeanaffairs.it, February 21, 2020, February 21, 2020, https://www.europeanaffairs.it/blog/2020/02/21/conferenza-di-monaco-macron-guarda-ad-oriente. (5) Un compasso strategico per la Difesa europea. La linea del gen. Graziano, https://formiche.net/2021/03/strategic-compass-graziano-difesa-europea.
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PRIMO PIANO
The evolution of NATO Alessandro Minuto Rizzo
From 1949 towards the future
ARTICLE PUBLISHED AT THE INVITATION OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Long-time ambassador and diplomat, born in Rome on September 10, 1940. Graduated in law, he entered the Foreign Ministry in 1969. From 1981 to 1986 he was Head of the External Relations Office of the EEC. From 1992 to 1996 he was diplomatic advisor to the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and from 1997 to 2000 he was diplomatic advisor to the defense ministers, Nino Andreatta and Carlo Scognamiglio. From 1994 to 1995 he was a member of the Board of the Italian Space Agency. In 2000 he was the ambassador of Italy to the European Union Politics and Security Committee. He served as NATO Deputy Secretary General from 2001 to December 31, 2007, when he was replaced by Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero. He assumed the functions of NATO secretary general from December 17, 2003 to January 1, 2004. Appointed ambassador on January 2, 2004, in 2011 he was appointed president of the NATO Defense College Foundation and in 2013 he joined the board of Finmeccanica. He was awarded the honorary title of Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic “On the initiative of the President of the Republic” on July 27, 2007.
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“NATO has, for decades, been a security umbrella thanks to which Europe has been able to recover from the rubble of a bloody and devastating war. This was followed by an economic and social development that was unprecedented in history, which resulted in our continent being the most advanced in the world in many respects (...)” (Image source: natoalliance.wordpress.com).
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The evolution of NATO: from 1949 towards the future
T
he Atlantic Alliance has demonstrated extraordinary resilience, it would seem that we have forgotten that its founding Treaty was signed in Washington in April 1949, exactly 72 years ago. At that time, the 12 signatories included Italy represented by Foreign Minister Carlo Sforza together with Ambassador Alberto Tarchiani. This is not a complex volume, but a few pages where the common values and interests and the importance of solidarity between allies, represented in the North Atlantic Council with management powers, are set forth in simple terms. We were in the middle of the Cold War and, at that time, we feared an invasion of the Soviet Union towards Western Europe. We imagined that it would take place in Germany and even an offensive was envisaged through a territory known as the Fulda gap. As we all know, this did not happen and we should probably thank the Alliance for this. Another thing that must not be forgotten is that NATO has been for decades a security umbrella thanks to which Europe has been able to recover from the rubble of a bloody and devastating war. This was followed by an economic and social development that was unprecedented in history, which resulted in our continent being the most advanced in the world in many respects, including the care of its citizens and human rights. The expression that best characterized that historical period was the “Iron Curtain” which divided Europe in two. An expression from Winston Churchill’s historic speech at the University of Missouri. Much time has now passed, but the fact that Soviet control extended over various countries of central and Eastern Europe, from East Germany to Bulgaria, passing through Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania must not be overlooked. A historical period of great tension where Europe was brought to its knees due to the consequences of the devastating world war and where communist parties remained strong even in the West. Taking sides was difficult for Italy; it was a country that had been partly destroyed by hostilities, defeated and forced to change alliances that encumbered its image. It had only become a Republic
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in 1946 by a small majority and remained politically fragmented due to the presence of a prominent Communist party. In any case, it was a fortuitous decision because the country thus entered fully into the ranks of the great Western democracies. During the post-war years, the ruling political class chose two fundamental axes of foreign policy, namely transatlantic cooperation and European integration. Let’s not forget that our Armed Forces were reduced to a minimum, poorly armed and trained. Joining the Atlantic Alliance marked a radical turning point in this sector, and above all, thanks to help from the United States, a rapid modernization took place. Interoperability with other allied countries became a visible reality in the much-appreciated participation in various subsequent NATO operations. The diplomatic-military structures were located in Paris, where they remained until the late 1960s, and were later moved to Brussels when Manlio Brosio was Secretary General. Within a few years, the Alliance became a global reference security organization, long before a foreign and defence policy dimension of the European Union was thought of. The Cold War certainly cannot be summarized in a few lines because it was a two-generation period that
Manlio Brosio (Turin, July 10, 1897-Turin, March 14, 1980) was an Italian politician and diplomat, NATO secretary general from August 1, 1964 to October 1, 1971 (wikipedia.it).
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The evolution of NATO: from 1949 towards the future
ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact in the early 1990s. It may be said that the two essential principles of those 40 years on which NATO was based were dissuasion coupled with dialogue. An important moment of that period was the Harmel Report (named after the Belgian foreign minister who initiated it), agreed in late 1967, which explicitly mentioned the chance to demonstrate great determination towards the Soviet Union, trying to simultaneously involve it in a tension easing process. It was within this framework that the “scientific program” was born, involving Soviet scientists in joint programs. This was accompanied by a dialogue on arms control that lasted over the years and which resulted in an important number of agreements between the two superpowers. Fortunately, the Cold War never turned into a conflict. The alleged Soviet invasion did not take place and, in the end, we know how it went. The Berlin Wall fell; peaceful revolutions occurred all over Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union itself dissolved. Today, nine countries that were part of that orbit are members of NATO and the European Union. “Out of area or out of business”: this phrase from Lord Robertson, Secretary General at the beginning of the century, meant that NATO must adapt to the times, no longer limited to defending itself from an external attack, but should deal with managing international crises outside its perimeter if there is the political consensus of the allies. The first application of this principle took place in the former Yugoslavia in the early nineties; the SHARP GUARD operation conducted by NATO in the Adriatic Sea was also noteworthy. The Bosnian crisis seemed interminable and all attempts by the United Nations to put an end to it had failed. At this point NATO intervened for the first time conducting a combat operation and outside its territorial perimeter. Excellent management based on interoperability and military credibility led to a standstill to the bloody conflict and then to its con-
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NATO’s evolution during the post-Cold War period was greatly influenced by events in the Balkans. And although in each of its subsequent summit meetings the Alliance has broadened the areas of strategic interest and commitment, the Balkans remain a region of special importance for the Organization. In the image: KFOR (Kosovo Force) sees to the air transport of humanitarian aid to Albania (© KFOR) - (nato.int).
clusion with the Dayton agreements of November 1995, which is still in force. Our country actively participated with important contingents and lastly also deploying a battalion of Carabinieri (Multinational Specialized Unit). The next test was the operation in Kosovo in 1999. It was called for on account of the repressive activities and ethnic cleansing carried out by Milosevic in a region inhabited by an Albanian ethnic minority. After two months, the Belgrade government was forced to throw down its weapons and Kosovo was occupied by NATO forces. An operation that continues to this day. Divided into five zones, Italy was given responsibility for the northern part, whose centre was located in Pec. NATO’s commitment in the Balkans did not end there because in 2001 it was called upon to avoid a civil war in Macedonia between the Slavic majority and the Albanian minority. After much hesitation, the Alliance intervened with Operation Essential Harvest which managed to avoid an actual conflict, forcing the parties to form a constitutional pact. The Washington Summit in 1999 approved a new and innovative strategic concept which looked at new threats such as international terrorism and which established the principle that NATO’s competence could go beyond the natural borders of Europe.
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The evolution of NATO: from 1949 towards the future
These decisions anticipated the Alliance’s reaction to 9/11 and the attack on New York’s Twin Towers. Once it was ascertained that al-Qaeda, in other words international terrorism, was the author of the attack, it was able to formally declare that the United States was attacked from the outside and therefore the solidarity clause provided for in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty came into effect. A historic declaration, not lacking in practical consequences that foreshadowed NATO intervention in Afghanistan as well as the air-naval counter terrorism operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOR in the Mediterranean. In Afghanistan, the operation began on August 11, 2003 and ended on December 31, 2014. It was followed by Operation Resolute Support, which was dedicated exclusively to training and assisting the Afghan Armed Forces. After much deliberation and fully aware of the uncertainty that still surrounds the future of the country, President Biden has decided to withdraw all American forces by September 11, exactly twenty years after the attack on the Twin Towers. A decision which will be inevitably followed by the withdrawal of the other allied contingents, including the Italian one, based in Herat and responsible for a large part of the country near the borders with Iran. The air force has managed a base in Abu Dhabi for many years, which has proved essential for conveying vehicles and materials coming from Italy to Afghanistan. Afghanistan is therefore rightfully part of the history of the Atlantic Alliance, which had to cope with a very difficult and very expensive mission thousands of kilometres from Europe, facing new challenges and with reduced strength. The overall balance is however positive since both NATO and Italy performed their duties admirably. It bears remembering that the admirably borne responsibility did not concern Afghan domestic politics and the leadership of the country, but the creation of a “safety belt”, which could foster the restart of the civil society of Afghanistan, victim of decades of every sort of violence. OCEAN SHIELD was one of the operations through which NATO provided international contri-
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bution in combating the phenomenon of piracy, off the coast of the Horn of Africa, between August 2009 and December 2016. As we said earlier, the Washington treaty was signed on April 4, 1949 by 12 countries and the number of members has now risen to 30, the result of an “open door policy”. After the fall of communism there was a veritable race to join NATO. There was also a lengthy discussion in the American Congress regarding whether it was appropriate to expand the Alliance to countries that would not have made significant contributions from a military point of view and it was decided that the evaluations of political expediency should have the upper hand. The Balkan countries, which were once part of former Yugoslavia, also gradually joined the Alliance. Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia joined in that order. In the meantime, partnerships developed considerably, starting with the “Partnership for Peace” which includes various European countries such as Austria, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland. The “Mediterranean Dialogue” and the “Istanbul Cooperation Initiative” developed in the Arab region. These partnerships have the potential to positively impact modern defence institutions in countries seeking stability and often threatened by terrorism. In conclusion, we see that NATO, which appeared to be on the verge of dissolving at the end of the Cold War, is still considered the most efficient international crisis management tool. Now we are called to reflect upon new priorities. The international reference framework is becoming increasingly complex, new powers and technological challenges are appearing on the horizon for which we must prepare. From the Italian point of view, we can be proud of our national contribution. Our country has significantly participated in all the operations conducted thus far and has proven to be perfectly interoperable with the major countries. Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan, just to mention a few, are countries where Italy has been responsible for substantial parts of the territory. During operations in the Balkans this ran in parallel with pol-
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The evolution of NATO: from 1949 towards the future
itics when it became part of the restricted “Quint” consultation. Namely together with the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Manlio Brosio was a highly regarded Secretary General for 7 years until 1971, leading the Alliance’s transition from Paris to Brussels. In this regard, it should be noted that France, which had left the military dimension with General De Gaulle, returned to it in 2009. Over the years we have had several delegated Secretaries General. This is the only role that alternates with the secretary general in the presidency of the Alliance bodies. For instance, the writer has been entrusted with various functions from internal reform of the Organization to the rationalization of the agencies, to opening and then supporting partnerships with countries in the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf and Israel. It bears remembering that the presidency of the Military Committee, NATO’s prestigious military representation summit, was held twice, first by Admiral Venturoni and then by Admiral Di Paola. The fact that Rome is part of the NATO Defense College, NATO’s only academic and highly educated institution, is a source of great satisfaction. Over the years thousands of senior officers and civilians have succeeded one another at the College. In 2011 its very own Foundation (NATO Defense College Foundation) was set up. The Ministry of Defence and the Defence General Staff have always guaranteed adequate support. This year the College celebrates its 70th anniversary and the official celebration will take place in the month of November. We can therefore retrace these decades with the satisfaction of a job well done, that of a great democracy which responsibly carries out its role, as a “security provider” for peace and international cooperation. Now a new phase is coming, with an American administration that wishes to resume transatlantic cooperation and that believes in the value of alliances, putting NATO back in first place.
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The first concrete sign of this change is the Brussels summit, scheduled for this year on June 14, where the foundations for a renewal of the Alliance in its performance will be laid and we will be looking ahead to the strategic scenario of the future. It is now clear that the Indo-Pacific region has taken on a primary importance and that China raises a series of questions with its economic, technological and military growth. In 2020, a reform process was launched that promises to be very ambitious and of which we cannot, as of yet, know where it will lead. The London Summit in December 2019 accepted Germany’s proposal to create a high-level think-tank with the primary task of restoring the wide-ranging political dimension that the Alliance had gradually lost over the years. There is a general consensus that the military dimension is adequate and that various adaptations over the years have allowed NATO to keep up with the times. Successive operations have shown efficiency and ability to cope with demanding tasks around the world. The political dimension has very important aspects, ranging from the decision-making process, to the relationship with the outside world, to creating consensus. Clearly the expansion of the Alliance has made it more difficult to identify common priorities and goals shared by all. The perception of threats and their origin also largely depends on the geographic location and recent history of each country. Therefore, strengthening internal cohesion is important and welcome. The NATO Defense College (NDC) is a NATO international military school, located in the Cecchignola military compound in Rome. Lieutenant General Olivier Rittimann, of the French Army, has been the Institute commander since July 16, 2019 (reportdifesa.it).
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The evolution of NATO: from 1949 towards the future
a half billion people, an impetuous economic The Group delivered its report to Secretary General growth, an exceptional level of investment in high Jens Stoltenberg on November 25, 2020. Title: Nato technologies, a constantly growing military dimen2030: United for a new era. sion, make it the first world competitor for Western It is a substantial document that contains a series of democracies. useful observations, which must however be distilled Which strategy should be adopted? It is unclear and transformed into operational proposals. The prowhich is the best way, and European countries are cedure envisages that Stoltenberg take the initiative to surprised by the speed at which these developments propose a detailed reform process at the next Alliance are taking place. In recent months a discussion has summit, scheduled for June 14. been taking place regarding We do not know if the schedule will be kept as the what attiprocess appears to be very complex, with many untude should known factors, and implicitly requires an anticipatory be adopted consultation process to ensure that the exercise is with regard successful. to Beijing. We are aware of the fact There are conthat the Secretary General crete elements plays a central role and of dissent, on account of that his current mandate its treatment of some miexpires in September norities, its violation of 2022. Therefore, it is natthe Hong Kong statute and ural for one to think of his in general its lack of resuccession, a phase that spect for human rights. has yet to unfold. One possibility that is The writer believes that being considered is to esthe time has come to proby the Expert Group, selected by the NATO Secretary General tablish partnerships with pose an Italian secretary Report to strengthen the political dimension of the Atlantic Alliance (nato-int). countries in the area, such general. Manlio Brosio as Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Howended his mandate over 50 years ago and our country, ever, this is a matter that is only in the initial stage a founding member of the Alliance, is fully entitled to and that may be expounded upon along different propose a candidate that could hold the position of lines, including complex aspects of a diverse natures. number one. In conclusion, history always reserves surprises As was previously mentioned, internal proceand does not end here. What we can see is that dures are only a part of the future perspective. There NATO has shown an unexpected capacity for are also numerous partnerships in various parts of change and remarkable resilience. Several times, in the world, now around forty, with clearly different its long 72-year history, it has seemed on the verge intensity and emphasis, depending on the case. We of becoming ineffective and then has shown that it mentioned the “Mediterranean Dialogue”, the “Iscan change and adapt to needs. A common saying tanbul Cooperation Initiative” and the “Partnership among experts in the field is that the old Alliance is for Peace”. guided by necessity, and circumstances, and not by The new emerging dimension is the Indo-Pacific, “design”. a region in which NATO has never entered, but To this day it is still the main contributor to internawhich has become relevant on account of China. In tional security and, in this sense, a very useful tool at recent years, China has increasingly appeared and the service of our country. behaved like a superpower. A population of one and 8 18
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NATO From Europe to the entire world 20
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A number of factors analysed in this article, will fully relaunch the international role of the Atlantic Pact which, from a Euro-American democratic bastion, will have to briefly turn into an Indo-Pacific sentinel as well (Image source: aspeniaonline.it).
n his work entitled Projet pour rendre la paix perpétuelle en Europe, Jesuit Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, the renowned Abbé de Saint-Pierre, saw the need to create a permanent Arbitration Chamber composed of the main courts of Europe, in order to prevent war between them and to develop and promote a commerce perpetuel de Nation à Nation (1). According to the French abbot, this was the only way to remove the war from the old continent. Naturally the prelate’s writing was affected by the events taking place at the time, as his first work was published in the year of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) which, together with the subsequent peace of Rastatt of 1714, ended the bloody War of the Spanish Succession which had raged across Europe for years. Most likely this writing was also greatly influenced by the work of another French religious figure, the monk Émeric Crucé who, eighty years earlier, had published his work entitled Nouveau Cynée (1623) in which he hoped for a sort of primordial League of Nations that would be able to resolve international disputes without resorting to war. Basically, what was established three hundred years later, in the Briand-Kellogg Pact signed in Paris on August 27, 1927 with which the signatory nations (63 states) rejected war as a means to resolve international divergencies (2). The religious figure Emeric Crucé also believed that economy and trade are indispensable foundations for maintaining peace.
I
Alessandro Mazzetti He holds a PhD in History of International Relations and collaborates with the Chairs of Contemporary History and Modern History of the University of Salerno. He has authored numerous essays on naval geopolitics
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NATO: from Europe to the entire world
states and emerged as the only main creditor. In Europe, Therefore, it would be highly plausible that even in the period between the two wars, a large and influenFrench philosopher and sociologist Claude-Henri de tial group of thinkers, philosophers, economists, and Rouvroy of Saint-Simon was in some way influenced by politicians was formed; they were convinced that the the two religious figures when he developed his ecoonly way to cope with the slow decline of the old continomic theory, according to which technological progress, nent was to create a single project of their own, starting together with industrialization and the flourishing of from the writings of the two French religious figures of economy, were preconditions of peaceful prosperity for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Thus, on Ocall. This fact, which features notable intriguing elements, tober 4, 1926, the first pan-European congress met in anis particularly noteworthy as it points out that in the midcient Vienna. In this period there was surely no shortage dle of the modern period, that is, in a historical phase of excellent advocates of the need to create a new United characterized by absolute monarchies, there was a group States of Europe. If, according to Count Kalergi, this neof scholars, philosophers and religious figures who had cessity would serve to preserve its world leadersomehow laid the conceptual and cultural founship, given the rapid rise of the United States, dations for the future project of the European Japan and the Soviet Union (4), for WinUnion. A dynamic that certainly did not ston Churchill the European nations escape the notice of distinguished histoshould combine forces in order to efrian Federico Chabod, who noted that fectively face the advance of the Bol“for the men of the seventeenth censhevik revolution, while admitting tury, there is a political body of Euthat Great Britain would only be a rope” (3). But European history went partner and not a member of this projdown other paths. The Hague conferect, as the British Empire was not only ences on disarmament of 1899 and a European power, but also an Ameri1907, proposed by Tsar Nicholas II, on can, Asian and the greatest African the regulation but, above all, on the power (5). There was certainly no limitations of weaponry, did not bring Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, shortage of notable Italian opinions on about the hoped-for results. The only Abbot known as the Abbé de Saint-Pierre (1658-1743), appreciable result was a partial recov- was a French writer and philosopher, member of this important debate. In 1929, from the Académie française (wikipedia.it). Opposite ery of international prestige for the page: Winston Churchill used the expression the his Parisian exile, Turati almost “Iron Curtain” in a long speech given on March Romanov emperor, whose image had 5, 1946 in Fulton, Missouri (United States) prophetically advocated the need to to the division of Europe with the intencreate a European federation and link been decidedly tarnished after a sen- referring sifying of the Cold War (en.wikipedia.org). the latter to the American one in order sational defeat during the Russoto create an invincible economic and political block and Japanese war of 1904, which ended with the almost total thus avert the imminent Yellow Peril (6). With the Secannihilation of the Russian fleet in the Tsushima waters. ond World War, the powers and nations of the Old ConThe Great War brought about the long decline of Europe. tinent definitively lost their role as supporting actors in The Old Continent ceased to be the political and ecoworld economy and politics. Shortly thereafter, the denomic centre of the world, other non-European powers, bate on the need to create a unitary European political such as Japan and the United States of America, forceproject became more urgent, given the constant threat fully and determinedly put themselves forward to lead from the Moscow government whose Red Army now diinternational politics. The conflict gave the American rectly controlled the whole of Eastern Europe. World colossus a heavy industry of the highest order as well as politics was determined by two opposing blocks: the a fleet that could compete, both in number and in quality, American and the Soviet. The need to create a political with the Royal Navy that had been, up to that time, the European entity was forcefully and determinedly supundisputed queen of the seas. Moreover, the United ported by Winston Churchill who, in 1946 at the UniStates entered the conflict as a debtor to the European
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NATO: from Europe to the entire world
versity of Zurich, emphasized how it was necessary to “rebuild the European family to create the United States of Europe” (7). In 1947, Washington launched the Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program) to revitalize the European economy, which had been brought to its knees, practically devastated, by long years of war, while hedging continuous and pressing requests for military aid from France and Great Britain. Meanwhile, on March 5, 1946, Churchill delivered the famous speech at Westminster College in Fulton (Missouri) that has gone down in history as the one on the Iron Curtain. On that occasion, the British statesman traced the new European limes, from Szczecin on the Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic, amid Western democratic powers and the Soviet Union, in the presence of American President Harry S. Truman. With the signing of the Brussels Treaty of 1948, that is a mutual aid agreement between Great Britain, France and the Benelux, Washington had proof that the European states were really willing to cooperate in a common military defence project. Thus, American President Truman overcame his reservations and declared that “the determination of the free countries of Europe to protect themselves will be matched by an equal determination on our part to help them to protect themselves” (8). In essence, the first basic foundations were laid for the Atlantic Pact. Due to British resistance, the broadening of the Treaty to include Italy was not an easy task, as it did not want to extend the intervention range to the Mediterranean. British reluctance was overcome by the intervention of the French who were interested in the Ital-
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ian presence in order to better guarantee connecting shipping lines with Algeria and by the personal intervention of Truman (9). Thus, on April 4, 1949, twelve states signed the Treaty in Washington. One cannot disagree with prof. Mammarella when he argues that the “Atlantic Pact, despite its appearance of a predominantly military agreement, right from the start became the instrument that linked Europe and the United States to a political and ideological alliance that appears irreplaceable for maintaining stability and Europe and in the world” (10). There is no doubt that without the American contribution and the creation of NATO, the European Community project would never have come about. In fact, thanks to this body, the States of the Old Continent slowly, laboriously and not without problems, began to create a common home for European nations, despite continuously pressing Soviet foreign policy and the spread of socialist and communist parties in Western Europe. Paradoxically, it is evident that, despite substantial and great Europeanist literature, even dating back to the middle of the modern period, the European project was possible thanks to the creation of the Atlantic Pact which, as was shrewdly pointed out by Mammarella, still appears indispensable not simply because it offers a powerful military umbrella, but it has itself become a synthesis and place of political and economic dialectical exchange of similar worlds. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, NATO had to change its guise according to the needs dictated by the new world order and recent dangers such
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as international terrorism. Thus, at the request of the UN, NATO intervened outside Europe for the first time, as in the case of the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) and RS (Resolute Support) operations, which were both carried out in Afghanistan in support of the legitimate Afghan government against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The current world system is being severely plagued by the spread of the now infamous Covid-19. The events of the pandemic and the fierce economic competition in progress or, more appropriately, a veritable economic war, once again show the fragility of the
United States Army General Austin Scott Miller, commander of the Resolute Support mission since September 2018 (rs.nato.int). Centre: soldiers of the Sassari Brigade and, above, a department of Alpine troops, engaged in the ISAF mission. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a UN-authorized NATO mission to aid the government of Afghanistan in the war against the Taliban and al-Qaida (esercito.difesa.it).
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European project that is struggling to take off as a single autonomous and coherent political body although nearly seventy years have passed years since its establishment. Also, in relation to the Coronavirus pandemic, setting aside the tragic human and economic as well as social aspects, European states have been forced to turn to outside the Community in order to receive the precious vaccines (11). Hence, in addition to the lack of a foreign policy and a common defence, the European Union also lacks its own bacteriological centres and laboratories and therefore a strategy to effectively combat potential pandemics. Thus, in a wholly fluid economic and geopolitical world, characterized by an intense war for control of new and old trade routes, which are the backbone of the current economic system, vaccines geopolitics are also forcefully making an entrance. This final element has the ability to act as a factor of strong penetration, since it can not only create new alliances, but also weaken those that have been consolidated for some time. It is certainly no secret that the Russian and Chinese governments have tried to use vaccines, respectively Sputnik and Sinovac, as an attractor and penetrating element to weaken the bonds that unite the countries part of the Atlantic Pact. For these reasons, the pandemic is rightfully part of the great global geopolitical game, made more complex by the many protagonists and by extremely fluid and poorly defined, since they correspond to the sea routes, border lines. We would do well to remember that Russia is doing everything in its power to become the largest exporter of LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) in Europe, to tie it to its energy strategy. This is the key to un-
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Nord Stream is a gas pipeline that transports gas from Russia directly to Europe across the Baltic Sea (euronews.com). Above: TurkStream pipeline, which departs from the Russkaya station near Anapa in the Russian region of Krasnodar, crossing the Black Sea all the way to Kıyıköy (Turchia) (en.wikipedia.org).
derstanding the construction of the recent Nord Stream I, Nord Stream II and TurkStream gas pipelines to the south. Precisely the high cost of construction of the latter (12) validates the doubt that the construction of the pipeline has more to do with political, or rather geopolitical, issues than to mere economic opportunity. The consolidation, militarization and exploitation of the Northern Sea Route confers a significant strategic and economic advantage on the Russian Federation, which is determined to exploit it to the full to expand its economic projection. The Russian strengthening in the Mediterranean through Serbian friendship in the Adriatic, the acquisition of the port of Tartus in Syria and the diplomatic dynamism whereby it may navigate its fleet in Egypt, Turkey, Greece and its establishment in Libya, should serve as a wake-up call. Moreover, with the construction of its own naval base in Port Sudan, Putin’s Russia is settling in a naval passageway of strategic and worldwide importance, a gateway to Suez and a link with the Belt and Road Initiative. In fact, the Russian base at Port Sudan, in the Red Sea, could cut off the con-
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nection between the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific, which we should begin to consider as a single coherent body of water (13). It is certainly no coincidence that, in the Horn of Africa, the presence of naval and military bases pertaining to thalassocratic powers is increasing, relaunching, to some extent, the involuntary role of nations such as Sudan itself, Eritrea (14) and Somalia, where Turkish military forces are already deployed (15). Of course, the presence of a Russian naval base almost in the middle of the Red Sea can also be interpreted as Moscow’s attempt to create a link with China’s quasially Djibouti. A link that would unite Russia with China’s heavily controlled Belt and Road Initiative. Moreover, this in turn connects with Vladivostok and the Northern Sea Route creating, in fact, a single fundamental route, or rather a circuit, probably the most important in the world. It bears remembering that the Sabetta gas terminal in Yamal was built thanks to sizeable Chinese investments (16). China is also manufacturing icebreakers such as Xuelong 2 on its own. The fact that, in certain
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sectors, Russia and China have decided to travel side by side is a given. The massive Chinese presence in Mediterranean ports, I believe, clearly outlines Beijing’s desire to definitively establish itself in the sea with the highest trade rate in the world. In addition to the port of Piraeus, Cosco owns Valencia (51%), Casablanca (49%), Vado Ligure (40% Cosco, 10% QPI), Bilbao (40%), Ambarli (26%), Port Said (20%), while CMport owns the port of Tanger Med (20%), Marseille (25%). In addition to these there are the port of Cherchell in Algeria, Haifa and Ashdod in Israel and part of the port of Taranto in Italy thanks to an agreement with the Turkish Yilport (17). Not to mention the Chinese dream of creating a sort of Panama II from scratch in Nicaragua to economically challenge the Central American canal, the true pivot of the American economic and mercantile system. Basically, all that nineteenth and twentieth century Anglo-American literature about the infamous Yellow Peril (18) seems to be coming to life in the new millennium. It goes without saying that the security of Europe inevitably passes through the Atlantic Pact and the Mediterranean, so Italy will be called upon to play an important role in the near future. The current geopolitical system, however fluid and nearly devoid of welldefined limes, still responds to the Napoleonic maxim according to which geography is destiny (19). It is therefore difficult to imagine that Nordic European countries will have a role of primary importance in the Mediterranean, particularly after Brexit. That NATO is facing its biggest challenge in recent years seems extremely evident. After a period of befuddlement, determined by the former American president’s stance on some positions, it would appear that Biden wants to relaunch the Atlantic Pact, giving it new life and probably expanding its powers and range of action based on the new global needs. This could have been a mere hypothesis determined by the new American president’s ultra-activism in foreign policy who, prior to taking office, had undertaken a dense program of meetings with numerous heads of governments around the world; however, after the recent meeting in Brussels between the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg it has taken on a
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concrete character. In this meeting, Blinken then met the foreign ministers of the countries belonging to the European Union. A clear sign of the American desire to strengthen the old friendship and to better coordinate in the international field with its longstanding ally. All of the many topics covered were of extreme importance, such as continuous Russian interference aimed at destabilizing relations between the nations belonging to the Atlantic Pact and the European Union, as well as Moscow’s energy strategy of and the creation of Nord Stream II aimed at making Europe, and its growing demand for LNG, dependent on the Russian Federation. Nuclear disarmament, the need to counter the Chinese hegemonic dream and the need to think, implement and create a joint pandemic strategy, were just a few of the topics covered during this very busy meeting. Regardless of the origin and reasons behind the Covid-19 contagion, the virus has proved to be a veritable asymmetrical weapon of exceptional incidence, not only in the economic and social world, capable of immediately and directly influencing global geopolitics. For this reason, in the meeting of the city of Manneken Pis, Blinken “reiterated that the issues of stability and the transatlantic community are challenges common to Europe and the United States” (20). The real news and focal point of the meeting was the Indo-Pacific (21) and the strengthening of the Quad (22), alliance, made up of India, Japan, Australia and the United States, (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) which, from an informal alliance, is rapidly becoming the pivot of a complex and effective containment policy of Chinese expansionism, so much so that it has earned the nickname of the Atlantic NATO. A need that has now become truly pressing after the creation of the Asian trade RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) which, with its 14 countries, is the largest trade pact on the planet, containing about 30% of the economy and aimed at a mass of 2, 2 billion consumers. With this move, the Chinese government has not only absorbed all ten ASEAN countries, but has also attracted four of the United States historical allied democracies: Australia, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand. In addition to being an economic and political attractor, this Asian free trade area isolates
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India, a real Chinese competitor and aims to replace the dollar with the yuan in international trade in the near future. Other elements that were discussed were the events relating to harsh repressions in Hong Kong and Xinjang, a strategic area as it is the regional link between China and Pakistan, in addition to being an element of constant pressure on Mongolia, is also the starting point of Chinese immigration in the boundless Russian steppe, which is being masterfully used by the Beijing government as a veritable element of economic pressure on the Moscow government. This complex and articulated picture ended with the matter of artificial Chinese military islands in Philippine waters and the age-old question of Taiwan. Biden took advantage of the Brussels meeting to outline the new Atlantic strategy that will follow the defence of human rights and the consolidation of the Quad as a new Asian Atlantic body strongly linked to the original NATO. Indeed, it may very well be that this four-party pact will soon be enlarged by the par-
President “Biden, with his staff, has decided to play the game all over the globe by relaunching NATO”. Pictured here with Tony Blinken, 71st Secretary of State of the United States (Image Source: ispionline.it).
ticipation of other Asian nations such as South Korea and New Zealand. This new Atlantic limb could make the most of the fleet contribution of other NATO nations, such as France and Great Britain wo intend to participate in the next naval exercises in the Indo-Pacific to strengthen their presence in that maritime area that is traversed by over 60% of the world’s trade. The events of the pandemic, the constantly varying geometry of the geopolitics of new routes, the destabilizing activism of the Russian Federation and the hegemonic desire of China, will fully relaunch the international role of the Atlantic Pact which, from a Euro-American democratic bastion, will have to briefly turn into an Indo-Pacific sentinel as well. 8
NOTES (1) Castel de Saint-Pierre C. I., Projet pour rendre la paix perpétuelle en Europe, book n. 1, Paris, 1713, p.6. There are several editions subsequent to the one under consideration. (2) http://www.difesa.it/SMD_/CASD/IM/ISSMI/Corsi/Corso_Consigliere_Giuridico/Documents /20558_ patto_briand_kellog.pdf. For more on the events of the naval conferences see: Mazzetti A., Marina Italiana e Geopolitica Mondiale, Rome, Aracne, 2017 and Minardi S., Il Disarmo Navale italiano 1919-1936, Rome, USMM, 1999. (3) Chabod F., L’idea d’Europa e civiltà moderna, edited by Platania M., Rome, Carocci, 2010, p.19. (4) Mammarella G. and Cacace P., Storia Politica dell’Unione europea 1929-2013, Bari, Laterza, p.5. (5) The essay in which he expressed this English imperial vision appeared in the Saturday Evening Post of February 15, 1930, close to the planned Naval Treaty of London of April 22, 1930, with the meaningful title The United States of Europe. (6) Schiavi A. (edited by), Esilio e morte di Filippo Turati, Rome, Opere Nuove, 1956, pp.339-342. (7) Gilbert M., Churchill, Milan, Mondadori, 1991, pp.414-415. (8) Mammarella G., L’America da Roosevelt a Reagan, Bari, Laterza, 1984, p.164. (9) Cacace P., Vent’anni di politica estera italiana 1943-1963, Rome, Bonacci, 1986. (10) Mammarella G. and Cacace P., Storia Politica dell’Unione, cit., p.44. (11) Mazzetti A, La geopolitica dei vaccini, in Porto&Interporto, April 2021. (12) The construction cost was initially estimated at 11.4 billion euros, but it would seem that the amount actually spent to complete the work was around 30 billion, https://it.euronews.com/2020/01/09/turkstream-cosa-c-e-da-sapere-sul-nuovo-gasdotto-appena-inaugurato. (13) On transcending the still current concept of an enlarged Mediterranean see the interesting article Infinito Mediterraneo by Poddighe G. on Analisi Difesa of 3/10/2020. (14) On the role of the powers in the Horn of Africa and more specifically on the American role in Eritrea, see: Turi A., Nel Corno d’Africa il gioco delle Potenze, Il Guastatore, n. 7 2021. (15) La presenza turca in Somalia, by Rotondo E. on Analisi Difesa of 23/10/2020. (16) On the subject, see Rivista Marittima, September, 2020. (17) A Copasir investigation is still underway regarding this matter. (18) In the nineteenth century fear spread in America and among some European nations that Asian powers such as China could dominate the world by erasing Western culture, that is the Yellow Peril. This fear gave birth to a veritable literary genre. After the Sino-Japanese War, the fear did not disappear, it simply moved from China to Japan. For more on the subject, see: Piana E., The Yellow Peril, in Future Wars, Storia della distopia militare, (edited by Ilari V.) Quaderno di Storia Militare 2016, Milan, ACIES, 2016. (19) Edited by F. Perfetti, Napoleone, Aforismi, massime e pensieri, TEN, Rome 1993. (20) Paniccia A., Mazzetti A., Vi spieghiamo perché l’Indo-Pacifico è un mare (anche) nostro, Formiche.net, 25/03/21. (21) Paniccia A., Shenoy V., La Cina e India le nuove frontiere, Porto&Interporto, January 2021. See also in the same issue Mazzetti A., Un ponte geopolitico tra oceano Atlantico e Indiano. (22) Shenoy V., Il Quad procede con l’Exercise Malabar: la prima mossa per contenere la Cina nell’Indo-Pacifico, Geopolitica.info, November 22, 2020.
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