Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced on Monday that he would vote against Finland and Sweden’s NATO accession campaign, saying the US should refocus its military power on China instead of Europe or Russia. rice field.
“Finland and Sweden want to join the Atlantic Alliance to deter further Russian aggression in Europe. national interest.
Earlier this year, the Nordic heads of state announced their intention to join a 27-member military alliance. And last month Turkey, a major NATO member, announced that it had received guarantees from Sweden and Finland and offered to block their bids.
“America’s greatest foreign enemy is not looming over Europe. It is looming over Asia. Of course, I’m talking about the People’s Republic of China,” Hawley wrote. The American people should know the truth: America is not ready to resist it: Expanding America’s security commitments in Europe now will only exacerbate that problem and compromise America’s security. It just lowers it.”
Several NATO members, including the United States, have yet to vote on ratifying their participation in the military bloc. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) asked senators to vote on the issue before they left Washington, D.C., for his scheduled Aug. 8 recess. said I want to
“I have to choose”
Many Republicans publicly support both countries’ bids to join NATO. In May, Hawley, one of his 11 Republican senators, voted against his $40 billion Ukrainian aid package, which was finally passed by Congress and signed into law.
In an opinion piece, a Missouri Republican said the United States was incapable of dealing with Russia and China at the same time. His announcement came as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California) visited Taiwan on Tuesday amid threats from the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese military stances in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
“As the 2018 and 2022 U.S. Defense Strategies acknowledge, the U.S. cannot defeat China and Russia in two major wars simultaneously. No,” Hawley wrote, adding, “In the face of this harsh reality, we must make a choice. We must do less in Europe (and the rest of the world) in favor of China and Asia. I have.”
Echoing statements made by former President Donald Trump several years ago, Hawley further said that some NATO members should seek to protect the continent by funding their armed forces more and not relying on the United States. He argued that they should take more responsibility for
Last week, the House of Commons passed a symbolic resolution supporting Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids, but Russia is opposed. In late June, Russian officials issued new warnings to Nordic countries about the “serious military consequences” that could result if they joined.
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Jack Phillips is a New York-based breaking news reporter for the Epoch Times.