Profile photo: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg
资料图: 北约秘书长斯图尔滕贝格
The NATO 2023 Vilnius Summit concluded on July 12, local time. The joint communiqué released a day earlier mentioned China dozens of times and again identified China as a "systemic challenge" to Euro-Atlantic security. Compared to the Strategic Concept document adopted at the NATO 2022 Madrid Summit in June last year, the number of times China was specifically mentioned this time has significantly increased, and NATO is still obsessed with lecturing, even in a more condescending and aggressive way.
当地时间12日，北约维尔纽斯峰会闭幕。此前一天发布的峰会联合公报，十几次提到中国，并且再度声称中国对欧洲—大西洋安全构成“系统性挑战”。与去年6月北约马德里峰会通过的“战略概念”文件相比，这次峰会公报“点名”中国的次数明显多了，而且还表现出一副“教师爷”姿态，显得更加咄咄逼人。
NATO, the world's largest military alliance, has never stopped creating adversaries to justify its existence. Based on the various versions of the Strategic Concept documents released by NATO since the end of the Cold War, each update follows the strategic adjustments and reflects the strategic demands of the U.S. After Joe Biden took office, the U.S. mistakenly identified China as the "most important strategic competitor" and explicitly stated that the "Indo-Pacific strategy" requires NATO's participation. Under the guidance of Washington, NATO has become increasingly tough towards China, even labeled China as a "systemic challenge" and used this as an excuse to meddle in Asia-Pacific affairs.
北约是全球最大的军事联盟，它存续的根本动力是一定要有对手。从冷战结束后北约更新的数版“战略概念”文件看，每一次更新都几乎跟随美国的战略调整，反映的是美国的战略诉求。拜登政府上台后，错误地将中国定位为“最重要战略竞争对手”，明确提出“印太战略”需要北约参与。在华盛顿的“指挥棒”下，北约对华表现得越来越强硬，还有样学样地给中国贴上“系统性挑战”标签，试图以此为借口染指亚太地区事务。
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg once said that "the threat from China" should be considered an essential basis for NATO's existence in the future. During the press conference at this summit, he repeatedly made such absurd statements as the so-called "Chinese mainland threatening Taiwan" and "China accelerating military construction". This proves that using China as an "imaginary enemy" has become a move to prolong NATO's existence.
北约秘书长斯图尔滕贝格曾直言不讳地说，未来应该把应对“中国威胁”作为北约存续的重要依据。在本次峰会记者会上，他频频冒出所谓“中国大陆威胁台湾”“中国加快军力建设”等一连串荒唐话。这佐证了，以中国为“假想敌”成为北约续命之举。
NATO has already become a defender of U.S. interests under Washington's pressure. NATO unreasonably accused China of posing a "systemic challenge," which many of its members don't agree with. Because the facts are clear: China has never initiated a conflict, never occupied an inch of foreign land, and has never launched a proxy war. Over the past 30 years, China has sent more than 50,000 peacekeeping troopsto participate in UN peacekeeping operations and has been hailed as the "key factor and force for UN peacekeeping efforts".
时至今日，在华盛顿的施压下，北约早已沦为美国利益的维护者。它无理指责中国构成“系统性挑战”，这恐怕连他们内部很多成员都不认同。因为事实明摆着：中国从来没有主动挑起一次冲突，从来没有侵占别国一寸土地，也从来没有发动过一场代理人战争。30多年来，中国派出5万多人次参加联合国维和行动，被称作“维和行动的关键因素和关键力量”。
In contrast, NATO, which is most adept at creating "imaginary enemies", is still obsessed with the camp confrontation of the Cold War era and has become a "war machine" driven by the U.S. Claiming to be a defensive organization and defender of a rules-based international order, NATO has bypassed the United Nations Security Council to launch wars against sovereign countries like Yugoslavia and Syria, causing a large number of civilian casualties and making tens of millions of people homeless.
倒是最擅长制造“假想敌”的北约，仍在搞冷战时期阵营对抗那一套，成为美国驱动下的“战争机器”。北约声称自己是防御性组织、捍卫基于规则的国际秩序，却绕过联合国安理会，对南联盟、叙利亚等多个主权国家发动战争，导致大量平民丧生，数千万人流离失所。
Another example, the root cause of the Ukraine crisis is NATO's continuous eastward expansion, which has eroded and squeezed Russia's security space. After the crisis, the U.S. pushed NATO member states to send a tremendous number of weapons to Ukraine, leading to an intensified and protracted conflict. This war took place on European soil, and most NATO member states are naturally the direct victims of it. They held the candle to the devil and received nothing but numerous scars and a deteriorating security situation in Europe. Those countries are nothing but scapegoats.
拿乌克兰危机来说，它的根源是北约不断东扩，侵蚀、挤压了俄罗斯的安全空间。危机爆发后，美国推动北约成员国向乌克兰输送大量武器，导致战局胶着激化。这场战争发生在欧洲的土地上，绝大多数北约成员国都是欧洲国家，自然也是战争的直接受害者。它们替美国摇旗呐喊，换来的却是自身伤痕累累、欧洲安全形势恶化，成了不折不扣的“冤大头”。
According to the latest news, the key obstacle to Sweden's accession to NATO has been removed, which means that NATO will expand further. Facts have long proven that wherever NATO extends its hand, turmoil follows. Radhika Desai, a political science professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada, pointed out that NATO's continuous eastward expansion has ultimately undermined Europe's security. Now that NATO is extending its tentacles to the Asia-Pacific, it will also threaten the security of the Asia-Pacific region.
根据最新传出的消息，瑞典加入北约的关键性障碍已被扫除，这意味着北约将再次扩大。事实早就证明，北约的黑手伸到哪儿，祸乱就跟到哪儿。加拿大曼尼托巴大学政治学教授拉迪卡•德赛指出，北约不断东扩，最终破坏了欧洲的安全；现在北约将触角伸向亚太，也将威胁亚太地区的安全。
Objectively speaking, there are also some rational voices within NATO. Some member countries, represented by France, insist on seeking European strategic autonomy and believe that NATO should not cross the geographical boundaries of the North Atlantic, should not extend its tentacles to the Asia-Pacific, and should not establish a liaison office in Japan. At a press conference after the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron said that NATO means North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Japan is not in the North Atlantic. Such voices need to seek more consensus within NATO. If NATO is bent on following the U.S. and intends to meddle in the Asia-Pacific after causing chaos in Europe, it will undoubtedly face firm resistance.
客观地说，在北约内部，也有一些理性声音。以法国为代表的一些成员国坚持寻求欧洲战略自主，认为北约不应跨越北大西洋地理边界、将触角延伸到亚太、在日本设立联络处。法国总统马克龙在峰会后的记者会上表示，北约是北大西洋组织，而日本不在北大西洋。这样的声音需要在北约内部寻求更多共识。如果北约执意跟着美国干，搞乱欧洲后还想祸乱亚太，等待它的必是坚决抵制。
Editor's note: Originally published on chinanews.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
