The leaders of the world’s most powerful military alliance clashed over personality and policy on Wednesday as NATO’s summit ended with an effort to paper over their sharp divisions.
Meeting outside London to mark the 70th year of the Atlantic alliance, the members vowed to stick together against threats from Russia and terrorism, and recognized the challenge of a rising China.
However, the bad blood continued to the end of the two-day get together, with US President Donald Trump branding Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “two-faced” after a group of allied leaders were caught on video at a Buckingham Palace reception mocking the US leader’s rambling news conferences.
Photo: AFP
Trump canceled his planned final news conference to fly directly back to Washington and into a political storm as opposition Democrat lawmakers issued a report calling for his impeachment.
Despite his anger, he appeared content with the result of the summit, boasting of having convinced his European allies to boost defense spending, and Turkey to drop its objections to the adoption of an updated defense plan for the Baltic states and Poland.
The second day of the meeting began with the release of a video showing Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte joking together about how Trump had delayed the previous day’s meetings.
Trump was furious and criticized Trudeau for not meeting NATO members’ target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense.
The buildup to the summit had been marked by Macron branding the alliance “brain dead” and demanding a new strategy, reopening a dialogue with Russia and refocusing on the fight against Islamist terrorism.
Afterward, Macron stood by his incendiary language, saying: “I am happy to have launched the debate, it seemed to me indispensable.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan withdrew a threat to block the updated Baltic defense plan unless his allies agreed to brand the Kurdish militias of northeastern Syria that helped defeat the Islamic State group “terrorists.”
Macron rejected Ankara’s call, saying that while he was sensitive to Turkish concerns about terror, he would not conflate “different political and military groups.”
Despite the rancor, the 29 managed to agree a “London Declaration,” and Erdogan withdrew his objections after an unscheduled meeting with Trump.
“In challenging times, we are stronger as an alliance, and our people safer,” the declaration said. “Our bond and mutual commitment have guaranteed our freedoms, our values, and our security for 70 years.”
The statement was the first from NATO to acknowledge the growing strategic challenge posed by China and it also stressed the need for a stronger coordinated response against terrorism.
It held out the possibility of “a constructive relationship with Russia when Russia’s actions make that possible,” but warned of the threat posed by Moscow’s deployment of intermediate-range nuclear missiles.
In a nod to French and German concerns about NATO’s strategic direction, the members asked NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to consult experts to strengthen the alliance’s “political dimension.”
Macron tried to shake up the agenda by demanding a review of alliance strategy, but Trump hit back.
“I think that’s very insulting,” Trump said of Macron’s assertion last month that NATO is experiencing “brain death.”
“Nobody needs NATO more than France,” Trump said. “It’s a very dangerous statement for them to make.”
Trump has defended Stoltenberg’s record of pushing allies for increased defense spending, but he reiterated his own long-standing complaints.
Only nine of NATO’s 29 members have reached the target agreed at its 2014 summit to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense before 2024.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source