MADRID (AP) — NATO faced criticism from Moscow and Beijing Thursday after it declared Russia an “imminent threat” and said China poses “serious challenges” to global stability.
The Western military alliance was wrapping up a summit in Madrid, where it issued a stark warning that the world has plunged into a dangerous phase of great power competition and a myriad of threats, from cyber attacks to climate change.
NATO leaders also formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after overcoming opposition from Turkey.  If the Nordic countries’ membership is approved by the 30 member states, it will give NATO a new 800-mile (1,300 km) border with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned he would retaliate if the Scandinavian pair allowed NATO troops and military infrastructure into their territory.  He said Russia should “create the same threats on the ground from which threats are created against us.”
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said Putin’s threats were “nothing new”.
“Of course, we have to expect some kind of surprises from Putin, but I doubt he is attacking Sweden or Finland directly,” Callas said as she arrived at the summit’s conference center.  “We will definitely see cyber attacks. We will see hybrid attacks, information warfare going on. But not conventional warfare.”
China accused the alliance of “maliciously attacking and smearing” the country.  His mission to the European Union said NATO “claims that other countries pose challenges, but it is NATO that creates problems around the world.”
NATO leaders turned their gaze south for a final summit on Thursday, focusing on Africa’s Sahel region and the Middle East, where political instability — exacerbated by climate change and food insecurity fueled by war in Ukraine — drives large numbers of migrants to Europe.
“It is in our interest to continue working with our close partners to the south to jointly address common challenges,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
But it was Russia that dominated the summit.  Stoltenberg said Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine brought “the biggest overhaul of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War.”
The invasion shattered the peace of Europe and in response NATO has poured troops and weapons into Eastern Europe on a scale not seen in decades.  Member states have given Ukraine billions in military and civilian aid to bolster its resistance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who spoke at the summit via video link, asked for more.  He urged NATO to send modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned leaders that they either had to give Kyiv the help it needed or “face a delayed war between Russia and you.”
“The question is who is next?  Moldova?  Or the Baltic?  Or Poland?  The answer is: all of them,” he said.
At the summit, NATO leaders agreed to dramatically scale up military force along the alliance’s eastern flank, where countries from Romania to the Baltic states are worried about Russia’s future plans.
They announced plans to almost eightfold the size of the alliance’s rapid reaction force, from 40,000 to 300,000 troops, by next year.  The troops will be based in their home countries, but will be dedicated to specific countries in the east, where the alliance plans to build stockpiles of equipment and ammunition.
US President Joe Biden, whose country provides most of NATO’s firepower, announced a major boost to America’s military presence in Europe, including a permanent US base in Poland, two more Navy destroyers based in Spain squadron and two more squadrons of F35s in the UK
The expansion will keep 100,000 troops in Europe for the foreseeable future, up from 80,000 before the start of the war in Ukraine.
Biden said Putin believed NATO members would split after his invasion of Ukraine, but the Russian leader received the opposite response.
“You’re going to get the NATOization of Europe,” Biden said, “And that’s exactly what he didn’t want, but exactly what needs to be done to ensure security for Europe.”
But tensions between the NATO allies have emerged as the cost of energy and other essential goods has soared, in part because of the war and tough Western sanctions on Russia.  There are also tensions over how the war will end and what, if any, concessions Ukraine should make.
Money remains a sensitive issue — just nine of NATO’s 30 members currently meet the organization’s goal of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense.
Britain, one of the nine, announced an additional 1 billion pounds ($1.21 billion) in military support to Ukraine on Thursday.
In what Stoltenberg called a “transformational” summit, leaders released NATO’s new Strategic Concept, its once-in-a-decade set of priorities and goals.
The last such document, in 2010, called Russia a “strategic partner.”  Now, NATO accuses Russia of using “coercion, subversion, aggression and annexation” to expand its reach.
The 2010 document made no mention of China, but the new one was about Beijing’s growing economic and military reach.
“China is not our adversary, but we must be clear about the serious challenges it represents,” Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.
NATO said China was “striving to subvert the rules-based international order, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains” and warned of its close ties with Moscow.
The alliance said, however, that it remains “open to constructive engagement” with Beijing.
China responded that NATO was a source of instability and promised to defend its interests.
“Since NATO positions China as a ‘systemic challenge’, we must pay close attention and respond in a coordinated manner.  When it comes to actions that undermine China’s interests, we will receive firm and strong responses,” her statement said.