The flags of seven new East European members were raised at NATO headquarters yesterday as foreign ministers prepared to confer on a growing list of global trouble spots where overstretched forces are involved.
"At the dawn of a new century, the entry of the seven new members extends the area of stability of our continent," said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. "It ... confirms that the divisions of the past have been overcome."
The banners of formerly communist Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia were hoisted in the courtyard of the sprawling low-rise NATO complex in a Brussels suburb four days after they joined, raising membership to 26.
PHOTO: AP
The three Baltic states are former Soviet republics whose incorporation into the Western alliance has riled Moscow.
But, after much deliberation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to meet NATO counterparts later yesterday in what Western diplomats saw as a signal of acceptance.
"It's a historic moment. For 50 years we were occupied by the Russians. We've never been as safe as we are today," said Lithuanian warrant officer Algirdas Nakvosas, resplendent in a green dress uniform, as he watched the flags go up.
NATO warplanes began air patrols over the Baltic states as soon as they acceded on Monday, despite complaints from Moscow.
Former Lithuanian president Vytautas Landsbergis, a hero of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, told state radio: "People have been trying to tell us that the Cold War is over ... but there are many facts showing us that this is an illusion.
"I speak not of the Russian people, but in the minds of Russian leaders nothing is different from 10 or even 15 years ago. The Cold War against the Baltic States continues."
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said there was no reason for "heightened nervousness" over Russia's unease.
"I don't sense that the Russians will find it necessary to counter this move with anything that would be either provocative or destabilizing or dangerous," he said in remarks released by the State Department yesterday.
Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia once formed part of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, NATO's foe which collapsed in 1991. Slovenia once belonged to non-aligned but communist Yugoslavia.
In their talks, the ministers were to discuss the slow delivery on pledges to expand security in Afghanistan, which won record aid from donors this week but is still threatened by a resurgent drug trade, warlordism and guerrillas.
"I would like to see additional forces go in there over the next couple of months in order to secure the country for the elections that are going to be held in September," Powell said.
Aid groups have criticized NATO for planning to set up military reconstruction teams in relatively stable areas of the country and failing to address major security problems.
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session yesterday while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival- threatening
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
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