Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has resorted to a spate of bad behavior as it pursues its hegemonic ambitions. These bad behaviors include mobilizing pirate-like attacks against countries with whom it has territorial disputes, imposing economic coercion on countries with whom it has political or commercial disagreements, and leading poor nations into debt traps and steering cash-strapped countries into ceding their natural resources for quick cash, among others.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has made it a practice to disregard long-standing international laws whenever they stand in the way of its interest. Similarly, it ignores court decisions handed down by international tribunals. This has resulted in thousands of diplomatic protests, court cases, and economic sanctions slapped on China. But none have deterred it from its rogue ways. The communist nation continues to act like a venal opportunist who bullies and buys its way towards realization of its ambitions.
For every action there is a reaction. A collective opposition has developed among Indo-Pacific nations who oppose China’s scalawag behavior.
Although not official, and likely unintentional, an Indo-Pacific equivalent of NATO is developing. For now, this burgeoning “Indo-Pacific NATO” is composed of bilateral and multilateral alliances that are neither organized nor consolidated. But this can change in a heartbeat. Member countries can very well coalesce, collaborate, and cooperate, not only to deter China but also to blunt the destabilization campaigns of North Korea, Iran, and Russia.
In the middle of these bilateral and multilateral alliances is the United States. The U.S. is the champion of the international rule-based order and provider of arms and financial support to like-minded countries. Having an Indo-Pacific NATO works to America’s advantage. Its formation will give the U.S. a solid diplomatic footing from which to exert its influence over the Indo-Pacific. In fact, a group of American legislators have already proposed a bill to Congress to establish a fact-finding mission on the implications of an Indo-Pacific NATO.
