Today we welcomed a special guest – Baiba Braže, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, who, together with Darius Semaška, Ambassador at Large, discussed the main priorities of the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius and where security issues might be heading.
Ms Braže pointed out that the big change in NATO was in 2014. After that, the allies started working closer together, and strategies based on cooperation and intelligence sharing were established. Moreover, NATO has dedicated itself to continuous support for Ukraine. “NATO is ensuring a platform where allies can agree on what they want to achieve. The fact that allies are able to provide lethal systems means that there is a joint understanding,” said Ms Braže.
The speakers stressed the need to strengthen further cooperation with Pacific partners, particularly in the area of information and intelligence. “We clearly have seen in the last year or since the time Russia invaded Ukraine, that China has become a hostile actor to NATO,” argued NATO Assistant Secretary General.
China has been transparent about its military capabilities; however, it has not made its objectives clear. It is important to engage with partners in the Indo-Pacific to understand their needs and outlook towards China. “China will become a bigger issue for NATO if it learns from Russia that the use of force is something they can get away with. Therefore, standing for Ukraine is a matter of international security. A multifaceted approach needs to be taken that does not necessarily see China as a threat, but there is an understanding of the modern-day challenges,” said Ms Braže.
On the situation in Kosovo, NATO has been successful in its operation there which is to provide stability and security impartially. “NATO shows we can do collective defence, we can do defence plans, we can do control structure. But also, crisis management, and other operations as we are mandated,” noted NATO Assistant Secretary General.