In Geopolitics Today - Thursday, December 16th
NATO Integration Toward a Strategically Responsible Europe and Russia to Deepen Defence Ties with Mongolia
NATO Integration Toward a Strategically Responsible Europe
Over the last ten years, the EU has withstood numerous crises while maintaining a steady pace at integration. At the same time, the still ongoing migration crisis in Europe has revealed strong disagreement within the Union on how to best jointly tackle such issues. This has meant that EU member states have had to take border security into their own hands, with some at times taking unilateral action against the wishes of Brussels. Whether the European security landscape will turn toward increased bilateralism or even closer regional coordination within NATO remains to be seen.
While NATO has long served as a parallel security architecture to most EU member states, the organisation has in many ways adapted to the EU by developing political functions that align with the EU’s coordination processes between member states. NATO is now heavily involved with EU institutions and missions in joint military exercises held in the Baltic and the Black Seas. Washington maintains a strategic interest in curbing Russian influence, and has for years developed strong bilateral ties with countries here that go beyond NATO partnerships in scale.
Meanwhile, China’s rapid rise to becoming a regional power has increased US concerns about China’s role in the Pacific, which has led to the numerous US requests for increased military spending from fellow NATO member states throughout the last decade. Europe is thus under pressure to spend money on defence measures at an economically difficult time.
And now, as the crisis in Ukraine flares up again, the EU is looking for an effective response to a potential Russian attack on Ukraine. Yet with few tools available to approach the situation from a position of strength, Brussels must turn to NATO — and by definition the United States — for the best chance of influencing affairs on the ground or at the negotiating table with Russia. This is because the US is perhaps the NATO member most interested in a Europe which is strategically responsible and globally aligned with Washington.
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Russia to Deepen Defence Ties with Mongolia
Following the occasion celebrating the centenary since diplomatic relations were established between Mongolia and the Russian Federation, the two countries have agreed to continue their special relationship into the future. In the span of a century, the two countries have shared common historical, political, and social ties due to both geography and politics. This latest round of agreements intend to deepen Russian and Mongolian cooperation in the field of defence and security according to a joint declaration.
A recent visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin saw the two countries sign a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, and this week’s meeting will build on that agreement by boosting bilateral cooperation in a range of spheres. In the discussions, Putin said both countries will continue to maintain very close cooperation in the energy sector, and pointed out that there are opportunities going forward for joint nuclear energy development projects. Both agreed to intensify implementation of the roadmap for the development of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor. The meetings also saw the signing of a document on new border checkpoints and a simplified system for transiting the Russian-Mongolian state border.
Recently, Mongolia has accelerated foreign policy activities with its neighbours in an attempt to diversify its mining-dependent economy. At the same time, Russia is increasingly looking toward the Asian markets to boost Russian trade, a process which is promising to Mongolia as it would provide a much-needed economic boost. Before any broad trade agreements can be penned however, Moscow and Ulaanbaatar must first ensure the necessary security environment conductive to trade. To work toward such a future, both sides are now signalling a greater intent to cooperate on defence, with recent discussions dominated by matters such as combating terrorism, extremism and separatism, or transnational organized crime. Nevertheless, while the agreements made between Moscow and Ulaanbaatar may boost security in the region, a 3,452 km border with little infrastructure will mean the region will be difficult and costly to secure for years to come.
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