NATO AND THE IP4 GROUPING
In 2022, the IP4 gathering made its way onto the international level. China was identified by NATO as a possible danger for the first time in the same year, claiming Beijing posed systemic issues to Euro-Atlantic protection.  ,
According to researchers, China’s confidence and strategic direction are at odds with both groups because of common concerns.
Professor Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi said NATO’s interest in the region reflects the inter-regional links between the European peninsula, North America and the Indo-Pacific.
” The Indo-Pacific is commercially important, not only for NATO, but the earth. There are a lot of things at stake for ( all ) sides, according to the senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council, an American think tank.
However, he added that teamwork is in the early stages and would probably be limited to data sharing, sharing of ideas, as well as occasional activities in sea, computer and data protection.
The Indo-Pacific region’s continued speech, according to NATO, may contribute to raising the level of cooperation in analyzing security developments.
NATO’S Growth NOT RECENT
NATO has increased its cooperation with its Indo-Pacific partners in the past few years, but observers claim that the bloc’s expansion is neither new nor new.
The alliance was established by 12 nations in 1949. Through 10 shells of arrival, it has grown to 32 countries today.
Associate Professor Reuben Wong pointed to the gradual transition of NATO’s targets. It was established for the defense of Western Europe 75 times before. Its emphasis then shifted to the army of most of Europe, and is now creeping into the Indo-Pacific.
” While this is great for European security, the growth also comes with some fees”, said the deputy head of the National University of Singapore’s political technology section.
” When you expand a military alliance with no apparent defense risk, it makes other nations suspicious”, he added.
NATO AND RUSSIA
One such cautious country, which has repeatedly voiced and acted on its antagonism to NATO’s development, is Russia.
Russia feels that it is being encircled by past supporters of the Eastern Bloc, which are now a part of the Western United States-led union. That led to a lot of insecurity”, said Wong.
Associate Professor Marianne Hanson argued that continuing development is not the truth as more countries, including Ukraine and Georgia, apply to join NATO.
” It is not going to relieve Russia’s concerns of NATO coming ever closer to its edges. The Associate Professor from the University of Queensland’s School of Political Science and International Studies said that NATO state should step very carefully with this.
A program that had firmly anchored Russia within Western safety would have been a better option, according to her.
” There are various possibilities. Pushing NATO constantly disregards the safety concerns that are prevalent in Moscow, Hanson said.
But, William Courtney, an alternative senior fellow at National think tank RAND Corporation, said that circumstances have changed for NATO over the years.
Up until Russia’s 2022 full size invasion of Ukraine, NATO has been somewhat “modest” in its reaction to Moscow’s anger on places that were moving closer to the European Union, he said.  ,
He pointed to Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 and Russia’s annexation of Crimea in Ukraine’s north in 2014. Both of the alliance’s conflicts were never met with a strong rebuke.
” But today, we see full-on sanctions and military support on a far larger size”, said Courtney, who is also a former US ambassador to Georgia and Kazakhstan.
Russia is perceived by Europe as a nation that, if it wins the Ukrainian presidency, could strike another German nation.
Wong warned that the same causes fuelling Russia’s insecurity may repeat in the Indo-Pacific place, adding NATO and IP4 should control their alliances properly.
NATO “must been cautious with how it defines its goal. Some statements” could not be quite good at making sure that other Asian countries in the region feel safe with NATO’s growth and its expanded mandate,” said Wong.