The US ambassador to NATO defended in an interview with Lusa that Portugal must do more to reach two percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Defense, despite admitting that there have been significant advances.
“We applaud and support everything that [Portugal] is doing within NATO, it is a strong and capable ally, but they have to continue to increase investment in Defense”, said Julianne Smith.
The United States ambassador to the Atlantic Alliance added that in recent years Portugal “has made some progress in this matter”, but it must “continue investing in Defense”.
The problem is recurring in several NATO member states: “There is good news, but there is also bad news. We are not yet in a situation where the 30 members of the alliance have plans to reach 02% of GDP or are close to achieve it”.
Julianne Smith acknowledged that the United States was concerned about the capabilities of several member states. However, this did not stop countries from helping Ukraine when the Russian Federation invaded the country.
“After the war started, countries like Portugal provided valuable military aid, but in doing so, they created gaps in their national ‘stocks’,” he acknowledged.
This “is a very important issue for the United States,” he guaranteed, so the increase in defense spending “will allow Portugal not only to help the alliance, but also to respond to shortages.” [de ‘stocks’] have” because of aid to Ukraine.
Asked about the episode of alleged insubordination in the Portuguese Navy that prevented the NRP Mondego from accompanying a Russian ship crossing Portuguese waters, Julianne Smith said she was surprised by what happened, but reaffirmed that the alliance’s waters under the jurisdiction of Lisbon are well distributed. .
“The Portuguese Navy is a key NATO asset. We trust what they do and we are very grateful for the work they do,” he added.
But Moscow is not the only concern of Washington and of the alliance of which Portugal is also a part.
In recent months, the tension between Beijing and Washington has reached one of the highest points in recent years, due to the ambiguous position of the People’s Republic of China in relation to the conflict in Ukraine and, more recently, to incidents involving alleged Chinese climates. balloons on northern soil.-American, which the White House considered an espionage attempt.
Last week Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The trip was considered a provocation, as it took place after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes in Ukraine, namely the alleged kidnapping of Ukrainian children in the occupied regions.
“We were very clear with the People’s Republic of China about the risks involved in supporting Russia materially,” warned the US diplomat.
With Taiwan permanently in the eyes of Beijing and the objectives of Xi’s renewed mandate, Julianne Smith assumed that “there have been discussions with NATO allies about the situation in Taiwan”, one of the most sensitive points of the geopolitical order: ” We warned the Chinese clearly about the risks of a possible military conflict.”
Julianne Smith has been the US Ambassador to NATO since November 2021. Previously, she was a consultant to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Director of Asia and Geopolitical Programs at the US German Marshall Fund.
Source: TSF
