Minister: Canada sceptical about “Asian NATO” concept due to differing interests

Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair cast doubt on the idea of an “Asian NATO,” saying that any US-led military alliance in the region would look different due to the diverse strategic interests there.

Blair made the remarks in an interview with foreign media on September 11 in Seoul, Caliber.Az reports.

“I think there’s different elements of strategic competition taking place in the Indo-Pacific. It may take a different form than what we see in NATO,” he noted.

Blair is on a trip to Seoul and Tokyo this week, marking the first visit by a Canadian defence minister to South Korea in over ten years. During his visit, he underscored China's increasing assertiveness in the region, describing it as "the swiftest military expansion" by any country in decades, aimed at "reconfiguring the global system to meet its own objectives."

China and North Korea sometimes claim that the US is attempting to create an Asian equivalent of NATO. However, security experts believe this is improbable because Asia is politically and economically more diverse than Europe and North America.

While NATO members generally share a common perspective on the threat from Russia, relationships with China differ significantly across Asia and can fluctuate with changes in government. Additionally, historical conflicts have left a deep-seated mistrust among many Asian countries.