Was ein Militärbündnis zwischen Russland und China für die NATO bedeuten würde
This study examines whether Russia and China are perpetual rivals or emerging partners, and the implications of the latter for NATO. Following Russia’s hybrid aggression against Ukraine in 2014—including the covert destabilization of the Donbass region and the unlawful annexation of Crimea—NATO implemented a paradigm shift known as the “NATO Adaptation.” At the 2014 Wales Summit, NATO increased readiness through the Readiness Action Plan, strengthened deterrence and defense capabilities at the 2016 Warsaw Summit, and refocused its command structure on collective defense in 2018 at the Brussels Summit. Although framed within a “360-degree approach,” NATO’s central adaptation measures since 2014 have primarily targeted Russia, considered a potential threat to the territorial integrity of Eastern European member states. This approach assumed Russia was the sole credible military threat, with Belarus largely acting independently. Until recently, the alliance did not fully consider the strategic consequences if Russia were supported by a like-minded major power such as China, or the potential challenges of simultaneous aggression—Russia in Europe and China in the Indo-Pacific. These scenarios have grown increasingly significant for NATO’s adaptation to evolving geopolitical realities. The issue is especially urgent in the current security environment, where Putin’s Russia, driven by revisionist and imperial ambitions, wages an overt and brutal war against Ukraine, challenging the European peace order in violation of established treaties. Concurrently, China, under Xi Jinping, acts as a “close friend and strategic partner,” adopting Russia’s narrative and attributing responsibility for the conflict to the United States and NATO.
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