SINGAPORE: It should not surprise anyone that the 31-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has an unsavoury reputation in Russia and China. But it is a bit surprising that this is also so among significant numbers of people in Southeast Asia.
There are different reasons for this, but a common theme is that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was precipitated by NATO’s eastward expansion towards Russia after the Cold War. This exacerbated Russia’s feeling of insecurity.
However, sceptics of NATO’s expansion need to be reminded that President Vladimir Putin has claimed that for historical and cultural reasons Ukraine was and should be part of Russia. Thus, the NATO expansion argument could just be a useful figleaf for a more sinister design, especially ominous for small states (that is, “You have always been part of my country”).
Still, if one looks into the claim that NATO is to blame at face value, it does not hold water.
NO IMMINENT PROSPECT OF JOINING NATO BACK THEN
It is well documented that NATO’s eastward expansion was (and remains) a sore point with Russia. And that it was discussions within NATO, initiated by the United States under former president George W Bush, on the possible inclusion of Ukraine in the alliance that greatly alarmed Russia.
Academic and policy luminaries in the West have cited the strong advice of Nicholas Burns, the then US ambassador to Moscow and the current Central Intelligence Agency chief, against such a move. Also, some of America’s European allies opposed the idea.
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