2024-08-19 11:09:38
Washington: NATO, which has been avoiding China till now, has finally been forced to increase its military presence in the Pacific Ocean. NATO till now considered only Russia as the biggest threat, but in the conference held in Washington in July this year, China was considered the biggest threat to the world. Since then, China has come under the target of NATO. NATO members are also making military deployment against China. Now Italy has also joined them. For the first time, Italy has deployed its aircraft carrier Cavour in the Pacific Ocean area adjacent to China.
Italian carrier moves closer to China
Cavour and another Italian frigate recently carried out exercises with the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the island of Guam. “This is, above all, a demonstration of our ability to use force anywhere,” said Rear Adm. Giancarlo Ciappina, commander of the Cavour carrier strike group. Some security analysts say European navies would play a front-line role in any conflict in the Pacific. But their ever-growing presence is straining relations with China.
Will the rest of the NATO countries support America?
China is constantly flying fighter and bomber planes near Taiwan. There is a fear that China can attack Taiwan at any time. America has promised to protect Taiwan. In such a situation, America can also join this conflict in case of an attack on Taiwan. At such a time, European navies can increase American military power, such as providing additional platforms for American aircraft, increasing submarine hunting capabilities, maintaining military supplies. NATO members have a mutual defense treaty that applies only to attacks in Europe and North America, so they cannot be legally bound to defend each other in the Indo-Pacific region.
Britain and France are also sending aircraft carriers
The British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and its strike group are due to arrive in the Pacific next year. France has also said it will send the Charles de Gaulle Carrier Strike Group to the Pacific Ocean region. A strike group is a small military force built around an aircraft carrier that usually includes destroyers, cruisers and other ships, as well as fighter jets and other aircraft. Germany and the Netherlands are among other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) planning to send warships to the region.