Security for all, as proposed by China, should be goal

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was initially meant for North Atlantic deterrence, but somehow the United States' hegemonic designs pushed it eastward, constantly creating severe socioeconomic, geopolitical and geostrategic problems for countries in the Black Sea region and now the Asia-Pacific region.

There seems to be a specific scheme in the current madness of NATO to justify its eastward expansion: declaring a self-made enemy. After forcing Russia into a corner, NATO recently declared that China is a major challenge to its security, which is simply untrue. The communique issued at the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in July intentionally and unfortunately provoked China.

By repeating the People's Republic of China 15 times, NATO's statement indicates a Cold War mentality and ideological bias. It purposefully distorts basic facts and resorts to disinformation about China's principles and policies, and it reflects certain socioeconomic motives, specific geopolitical plans and geostrategic schemes to further contain China.

The Chinese government has never had any part in what NATO has described as ambitions and coercive policies in the region or beyond.

Worse yet, the NATO communique was simply a carbon copy of the US' China containment policy and its military-industrial complex theory mainly targeting China to prolong US hegemony.

It simply pointed to hidden plans to strengthen its own military presence in the Asia-Pacific region and contain China in the future. Furthermore, NATO's claim that China and Russia pose a threat because of their deepening strategic partnership vividly reflected its own ill-conceived strategy in the region, which is faulty, fractured and forcible.

Conversely, the Chinese government has been working tirelessly to achieve regional peace, stability and harmony and urge all stakeholders in the Russia-Ukraine conflict to give dialogue, diplomacy and development a chance. However, regrettably, Washington and London have not been supportive of resolving the burning issue.

And it is NATO itself that often undercuts the rules-based international order despite its repeated groundless accusations that China does so.

In response to NATO's one-sided, prejudiced joint statement, the Chinese mission to the European Union rightly condemned the comments and criticized NATO for distorting China's position and deliberately trying to discredit the country's peaceful efforts in the region and beyond.

Beijing's firm opposition to NATO's eastward expansion into the Asia-Pacific region clearly demonstrates Asian countries' legitimate right to safeguard interests pertaining to security, sovereignty and territorial integrity and national pride.

Additionally, in the past NATO has notoriously indulged in meddling in the domestic affairs of other countries, violating basic international laws and violating other people's basic rights to existence, security, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Its expansionist ambitions and hegemonic motives have created regional as well as global unrest, political instability and, last but not least, economic chaos.

The NATO communique is full of lies, fabrications and distorted notions, reflecting whims and wishes of NATO's master, the US, to not only expand eastward but to reinforce the insatiable needs of the US military-industrial complex.

The Chinese response is focused, factual and forwarding-looking, indicating its diplomatic readiness to jointly work for regional as well as international peace and development and military preparedness as resolute countermeasures in case of NATO's eastward expansion into the Asia-Pacific region.

Sadly, NATO's hyped-up rhetoric of painting China as an aggressive power has created a false sense of insecurity in some Asian countries, and Japan and other countries are hiking military expenditures and approaching a likely arms race. International trade and economic cooperation are also potentially put in jeopardy.

Thus, before things get worse, NATO should live up to its North Atlantic namesake and respect the rights of peace, development and cooperation. For its own security purposes, NATO should come out of its self-created, self-inflated spheres of fear about China and change its falsified conceptions, stop provocative moves to destabilize the Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world, and truly play a constructive role in promoting common security for all global members.

The European and Asian allies of the US, including Japan, South Korea and Australia, should not be fully subservient to the whims of the Pentagon, even for their own safety, despite US military bases in their lands. Instead, they should follow the principles of the China-proposed Global Security Initiative and strive for common security for all, which is the right path ahead for humanity.

The author is executive director of the Center for South Asia & International Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan.