Journal Article
How ‘Like-Mindedness’ Became the Key Attribute of the China Containment Strategy
The stronger identity dynamics become, the more likely they are to reduce all the specific strategic choices into a single decision: to side with the U.S. or China.
NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg visits Japan January 2023. Photo: NATO
When NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently visited South Korea and Japan, the Western defense alliance issued a flurry of statements to convey the message that “transatlantic and Indo-Pacific security are deeply interconnected” and to stress “the importance of like-minded democracies standing together to protect the international rules-based order.”
What unites these “like-minded countries,” according to NATO, is “the systemic challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China.” Although Stoltenberg shied away from depicting China as an outright adversary, he made sure to point out that “its growing assertiveness and its coercive policies have consequences. For your security in the Indo-Pacific. And ours in the Euro-Atlantic.”
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Photo/illustration by Lynggaardhansenfoto.dk
How ‘Like-Mindedness’ Became the Key Attribute of the China Containment Strategy
The Diplomat, 2023