China Threat Rises to NATO’s Agenda by James Marson – Wall Street Journal
BRUSSELS - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is putting new attention on potential security threats from China, a challenge for an alliance whose members have conflicting attitudes about Beijing.
After five years focused on Russia, NATO ministers this week hold their first formal discussion on a perceived threat from China that ranges from the Arctic Circle to members’ own communication networks.
The U.S. has flagged Chinese investments in European infrastructure and pressed allies—largely unsuccessfully—to join its effective blacklisting of Huawei Technologies Co. over concerns that Beijing could force the company to spy or disrupt communications.
Officials at NATO said they worry about their militaries being able to communicate securely and move unimpeded by private ownership of transport infrastructure.
But many European governments have embraced Chinese investment and Huawei. The challenge of China is more complex because, unlike with Russia, “there’s no smoking gun,” said a senior European diplomat, referring to Russian incursions in Ukraine beginning in 2014…