NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 North American and European countries. The organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949. NATO constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO’s Headquarters are located in Evere, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons, Belgium.

The original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Though the Soviet Union has long since fallen, the world has continued to be a dangerous place throughout the nearly seven decades since NATO was formed, and now 29 nations are members of the alliance.

To make it easier for so many countries to communicate, NATO has two official languages: English and French. This means that it also has two acronyms in French, NATO is OTAN, which stands for Organisation du Traité de l’Atlantique Nord.

One of the founding principles of NATO is Article 5 of its charter, which states that an armed attack on one member nation would be considered as an attack on all.

The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty and by subsequent agreements. Countries wishing to join have to meet certain requirements and complete a multistep process involving political dialogue and military integration that includes signing numerous defense pacts such as a Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for Geospatial Cooperation, Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), and Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA).

Need Of NATO

Security in our daily lives is key to our well-being. NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.

POLITICAL: NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defense and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.

MILITARY: NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective defense clause of NATO’s founding treaty Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.

Recent in News:
1. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania to NATO Headquarters on Thursday (14 January 2021) for talks on strengthening security cooperation.
2. On 11 January 2021, EADRCC received a request for international assistance from North Macedonia to support its battle against the coronavirus.
3.On 28 December 2020, the Albanian Ministry of Defence received 60 sets of ventilator consumables donated by the NATO Pandemic Response Trust Fund.
4. Throughout 2020, NATO and Allied military personnel have been helping save lives by supporting civilian efforts against COVID-19, both in Allied and partner countries. In the first half of this year, some 350 flights delivered critical supplies around the world. Across the Alliance, almost half a million troops supported the civilian response, constructing almost 100 field hospitals, securing borders and helping with testing and transport.
5. NATO says alliance members Turkey and Greece have agreed to hold “technical talks” on ways to de-escalate military tensions in the eastern Mediterranean Sea over disputed gas exploration activities.

Facts About NATO

1. Collective defense: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded in 1949 and is a group of 30 countries from Europe and North America that exists to protect the people and territory of its members. The Alliance is founded on the principle of collective defense, meaning that if one NATO ally is attacked, then all NATO Allies are attacked. For example, when terrorists attacked the United States on 9/11 2001, all NATO Allies stood with America as though they had also been attacked. Since 2014, NATO has implemented the biggest increase in its collective defense since the Cold War. For instance, we have now deployed four multinational battlegroups to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Their purpose is not to provoke a conflict, but to prevent one. Managing crises around the world: Promoting stability in our neighborhood and protecting our people at home can sometimes mean taking action further afield. In the 1990s, NATO stopped further bloodshed from occurring in Bosnia and Kosovo. Since 2003, NATO has helped to ensure that Afghanistan is no longer a safe haven for international terrorist groups. NATO has also helped to prevent piracy off the Horn of Africa and, since 2016, has helped address the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe.
2. Fighting Terrorism: NATO plays an important role in fighting terrorism, contributing more than 13,000 NATO troops to train local forces in Afghanistan. NATO is also a full member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and our AWACS surveillance aircraft continue to support the Coalition. NATO is also training Iraqi forces to better fight ISIS, and our new Intelligence Division helps us to anticipate and respond to threats. In Naples, NATO has set up a ‘Hub for the South’ to help Allies tackle the threat of terrorism. Working with our partners: Because threats like terrorism, piracy, and cyber warfare know no borders, NATO is committed to cooperation with its global partners. That’s why we work with over 40 partner countries around the world, as well as organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the African Union, to spread stability and security.
3. Troops and Equipment: Whenever NATO carries out a mission, individual Allies commit troops and equipment to be placed under a unified NATO command. These become known as “NATO forces.” The only military equipment that NATO owns is a fleet of AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control) surveillance aircraft. NATO is also developing a capability for Global Hawk surveillance drones.
4. NATO’s Command Structure: With so many countries working together, having a clear chain of command is vital. Military and civilian personnel from all member states work together every day within NATO’s ‘Command Structure.’ This includes two top-level Strategic Commands: Allied Command Operations, based in Mons, Belgium; and Allied Command Transformation, based in Norfolk in the United States. To remain fit for purpose, the NATO Command Structure is being modernized to enable us to move forces more quickly across Europe and to keep sea lines of communication across the Atlantic free and open.
5. NATO funding: Every NATO country contributes to the costs of running the Alliance. By far the Allies’ biggest contribution comes in the form of taking part in NATO-led missions and operations. For example, one country might provide fighter jets, while another provides ships, equipment, or troops. NATO Allies also provide direct funding to NATO to cover the costs of NATO staff and facilities, its Command Structure, and its jointly-owned equipment, like its AWACS aircraft.
6. Defense Spending: At the Wales Summit in 2014, NATO Allies pledged to invest more and better in defense to stop the cuts, move towards spending 2% of GDP on defense by 2024, and spend 20% of that on major equipment. We are making progress. Over the last three years, European Allies and Canada have spent almost 46 billion US dollars more on defense.
7. The “Open Door” Policy: The Open Door Policy is a founding principle of NATO and means that any country in the Euro-Atlantic area is free to join NATO if it is prepared to meet the standards and obligations of membership, contributes to the security of the Alliance, and shares NATO’s values of democracy, reform, and the rule of law. Since 1949, NATO’s membership has grown from 12 to 30 countries. In 2020 we welcomed North Macedonia as our 30th member of the NATO Alliance.
8. Cyber Defence: Cyber-attacks are becoming more common, sophisticated, and damaging, making cyber defense a top priority for NATO. In fact, NATO now recognizes cyberspace as an ‘operational domain’ just as land, sea, or air. NATO helps the Allies to boost their cyber defenses by sharing information about threats, investing in education and training, and through exercises. NATO also has cyber defense experts that can be sent to help the Allies under attack.

So, at last, we can say that the amendment is moved as part of the National Defense Authorization Act 2020 of the USA, giving a big boost to India-US defense trade and this would remove current legislative barriers to the export of major high-tech defense equipment to India which is normally shared with only a few countries. It will also make peace and prosperity between the various countries, by providing support like a family during problematic situations in the coming future.

Reference:

NATO's Expansion: Ramifications for India - Indian Defence Review

10 things you need to know about NATO