The ties between NATO and the Indo-Pacific region “matter today more than ever,” Jens Stoltenberg, head of the 32-nation defensive military alliance, said Thursday, as he laid out the grim security situation the world faces and encouraged multilateralism as a response.
“Our security — from the Euro-Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific — is at stake,” he said. “We see active attempts by states to tear up the rules-based international order, which has benefitted us all for decades.”
Stoltenberg spoke via recorded statement from NATO headquarters in Brussels to hundreds gathered, including former and current heads of state, for the opening ceremony of the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity on South Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju.
In his keynote speech, he referenced Russia’s war in Ukraine that is raging in large part due to support from China, North Korea, Iran and other authoritarian nations. He mentioned the war in Gaza as well as threats of terrorism, cyberattakcs, nuclear proliferation and climate change.
The forum attracts thousands to the International Convention Center Jeju along the island’s southern coastal village of Jungmun, Seogwipo City, to discuss issues impeding peace being achieved.
Being held for the 19th time, this year’s forum, which runs until Friday, was organized under the theme of “Acting Together for a Better World.”
Stoltenberg said preserving peace is not a job NATO can do alone, as he hit on a main message to arise during this year’s forum — multilateralism.
“The challenges we face are global,” he said. “They require a global response.”
“With you and others in the Indo-Pacific region, we must ensure states live up to the international commitments they have made,” he added. “And we share a wish for peace and prosperity.”
Former Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo similarly touched on the wars now being fought that weren’t during his two previous visits to the forum, most recently in 2018.
He said wars should be avoided at all costs, describing armed conflict as a “regressive act on behalf of humanity” that is the result of a lack of communication and understanding between world leaders.
“We need to put an end to this destructive behavior,” he said, calling on the international community to reaffirm their commitment to peace.
“At this moment in time, at this chapter in history, we have to realize wars are not a solution for anything — it should be absolutely avoided,” he said. “No matter what the reasons are, we should never start a war. That is something we should clearly engrave in our hearts.”
