Why did Macron prevent NATO expansion? This article breaks through the author | Geography | Macron
On July 15th, the Russian news agency website published an article titled "Macron Preventing NATO Expansion" by Peter Akobov. The article excerpt is as follows:
"No matter who says it, the geographical situation is predetermined. The Indian Ocean Pacific region is not the North Atlantic... NATO's full name is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization." This is not the content of school geography classes, but the reason given by French President Macron for not agreeing to establish a NATO representative office in Tokyo. He pointed out, "NATO should have security partners in the Indo Pacific region, Africa, and the Middle East. But NATO is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and no matter how roundabout or circuitous it is, this is a geographical issue. We should not fuel the feeling that NATO is trying to legally prove its presence in other parts of the world is legitimate... NATO should not attempt to expand its' space of struggle 'because it is not the time now."
Although the draft contains relevant content, the final resolution passed at the NATO Vilnius Summit did not mention the establishment of a representative office in Japan due to opposition from France and other countries.
However, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who attended the meeting as a distinguished guest, was not discouraged: NATO's differences on this issue are well-known, and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg has announced that discussions about establishing a representative office will continue, and NATO has no closer partner than Japan. Fumio Kishida and Stoltenberg have signed a bilateral partnership plan to deepen cooperation in 16 areas, from maritime security to cyberspace.
Obviously, Moscow and Beijing see everything happening as NATO slowly expanding eastward, not just to the entire Eastern Europe, but also to East Asia, aiming to transform from an Atlantic alliance into a global alliance. The denial of similar plans by Europeans and Americans cannot convince anyone, as their actions prove this. Of course, the main drivers of gradual expansion were the Anglo Saxons, who had established the Anglo American Alliance. Can France and other European countries stop this process?
No, at most it can only slow down its speed.
The motives of countries such as France are easy to understand: NATO's overly close cooperation with Japan is a blatant provocation against China. Although NATO's European member states have increased their dependence on the United States in the past year and a half, they still hope to avoid decoupling from China, let alone confrontation. Therefore, when dealing with Beijing, they first consider themselves as EU member states and then as NATO members. NATO's wording towards China is becoming increasingly tough, as evidenced by the Vilnius summit, while Europeans are trying to ease the tone through bilateral contacts with Beijing. Paris, Berlin, Rome, and other countries all hope to persuade Chinese people to believe that they want to maintain economic and trade cooperation with Beijing, and Beijing also believes that multilateral exchanges are beneficial to bilateral relations. But China has always reminded Europeans to be more independent, obviously not only in the economic aspect, but also in the political, geopolitical, and military fields. Macron and other European leaders may have assured China that they can separate the economy from geopolitics and even influence NATO, so they need to make statements similar to what Macron did this time.
However, in fact, no European country can have a significant impact on the strategic and tactical decisions of NATO, the Anglo Saxons. The current situation is only because Washington is satisfied with NATO's cautious expansion of cooperation with Japan, and has not insisted too much on systematizing this cooperation through offices or other forms. Moreover, Washington is also aware that the increased dependence on the United States due to the conflict in Ukraine has deeply worried the European Union. Why put further pressure on Europeans because of the Pacific region?
Therefore, Americans will wait for NATO to establish a closer alliance with Japan, continue to demand that Europeans develop bilateral military exchanges with Tokyo, and enhance their military presence in the Indo Pacific region. Of course, unless the French choose to restore true sovereignty and defend national interests, they will not only be "decoupled" from Russia, but also lead by the nose and "decouple" from China.
