MADRID Kyodo The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said that China poses systemic challenges in its Strategic Concept endorsed Wednesday, making it the first time that the Asian country appeared in the document to guide the alliance for the next decade.
As Russia's invasion of Ukraine echoes across the Indo-Pacific, where China asserts its assertiveness is strongly felt, the document said regional developments can directly affect Euro-Atlantic security and that NATO will strengthen dialogue and cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners.
In a major shift from the previous document, which was agreed in 2010 on a strategic partnership between NATO and Russia, the NATO said Moscow is now the most significant and direct threat to the alliance's security.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the document a historic and transformative meeting for the bloc facing the most serious security crisis since World War II, and gave the green light to it during the first day of its two-day summit in Madrid.
NATO was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada and several Western European nations to defend against the threat from the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites.
The end of the Cold War in 1991 resulted in Europe spending less on defense and ventured outside the continent in order to address the threat from terrorism.
The alliance renewed its focus on defense and deterrence against Moscow because of Russia annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. More troops have been deployed along NATO's eastern flank after the Ukraine invasion began in February.
As part of its shift in its defense, NATO said it would boost the number of troops on high alert to more than 300,000, up from 40,000 that are under direct NATO command in the eastern part of the alliance.
The United States said it will improve its military presence in Europe and that it will continue to adjust its force postures based on the threat. The U.S. government is working with Spain to increase the number of American troops in Europe, from four to six, despite the fact that the total number of American troops in Europe has been raised by over 20,000 to more than 100,000 due to the Ukraine crisis.
The United States is planning to send two additional F-35 fighter jet squadrons to Britain and station additional air defense and other capabilities in Germany. It will establish a permanent army garrison headquarters in Poland.