By Robert Farley
An Asian NATO won’t be possible for some time without a change in how states conceptualize their security needs.
Is an Asian NATO possible? Before answering that, we need to think about what we mean by “NATO.” If we mean a military alliance designed to deter or repel a large regional aggressor, then some sort of agreement triggering military action under certain circumstances might be possible. If we mean “NATO” as we have come to understand the activist collective security organization, then we have a long way to go.
The post-war framers of the U.S.-sponsored collective security system surely did see the potential for an Asian version of NATO. SEATO quietly died after 23 years of pointless existence, the primary focus of its defensive commitment falling to North Vietnamese tanks in 1975.
However, the idea of a collective security organization appeals to some strategists, given the fears that several regional states have about Chinese territorial interest in the East and South China Seas. Aggregating military and political capacity would prevent China from picking off opponents one by one, and would allow for operational coordination between militaries, even if an effective alliance could have negative second order effects.
Read the full story at The Diplomat