Austria’s Chief of the General Staff Rudolf Striedinger had announced before the Officers’ Ball last Friday The highest-ranking Austrian officer took part in the 190th meeting of the NATO Military Committee of Army Chiefs at NATO Headquarters in Brussels from 17 to 18 January.
The 31 Allied Joint Chiefs of Staff and the invited Swedish delegation focused on the feasibility of the Alliance’s new defense plans, NATO’s transformation of warfare to reflect the new security situation, continued support for Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia, and the need for the Alliance’s new military capabilities. Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia and – illustrated by the army commanders present – military cooperation with NATO partners Austria, Australia, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the Republic of Korea. During the two-day meeting, the Chiefs of Staff met for the first time in the format of the NATO-Ukraine Council. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzvuV-2B-IU&t=1s The current Chairman of the NATO Military Committee is Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, Supreme Commander of the Dutch Armed Forces from 2017 to 2021. He has recently outlined the current threat situation for Europe in several media – and quite drastically at that and emphasized at the opening together with NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană that “the rules-based international order is under immense pressure”. Bauer: “The tectonic plates of power are shifting. And as a result, the world is more dangerous today than in previous decades. In this new era of collective defense, we must not only defend the physical security of the one billion people in our 31 – and soon 32 – countries, we are also defending freedom and democracy. And when it comes to security, there is no regionalism. All our security is interconnected. I am therefore delighted that we are here with the NATO heads of army to discuss how NATO and its partner countries can work more closely together.”
First day
The agenda of the first day included the balance between deterrence and defense, maximizing the feasibility of fully implementing new defense plans, supporting Ukraine and preparing for the NATO summit in Washington in July. Deputy Secretary General Geoană highlighted various global security challenges: “Today, our peace is under threat. War, terrorism, instability and authoritarian states threaten our values. We need a strong NATO more than ever, and a strong NATO is what we have.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt7XUmjKJVw&t=5702s In the first session, General Christopher Cavoli (Supreme Allied Commander Europe – SACEUR) provided information on the further feasibility of the DDA plan family, the “Concept for Deterrence and Defense of the Euro-Atlantic Area” adopted in June 2020. Regarding NATO’s transformation in warfare, Supreme Allied Commander General Philippe Lavigne and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation, General Christian Badia, briefed the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the progress of NATO’s transformation, focusing on the future of multi-domain operations and the adaptation of NATO command and control. In the Integrated Air and Missile Defense session, the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed improving NATO’s air readiness and interoperability.
“The outcome of this war will determine the fate of the world.
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Admiral Rob Bauer
In the afternoon, the Chiefs of Staff then discussed NATO’s deterrence and defense priorities and the resources required to achieve them. At the following first meeting of the new NATO-Ukraine Council in the format of the Chiefs of General Staff, the Ukrainian military representative to NATO, Major General Serhij Salkutsan, briefed the NATO Chiefs of Defense on behalf of the Ukrainian Chief of General Staff Valerij Saluschnyj. The Chiefs of Staff praised the courage and determination of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and reaffirmed their unwavering and continued support for Ukraine. Admiral Bauer stated: “The outcome of this war will determine the fate of the world. Our support is not charity or a waste of money, it is an investment in our security as well.” https://militaeraktuell.at/saab-erhaelt-auftrag-aus-schweden/ Second day
The second day began with a meeting of the Military Committee with the Chiefs of Staff of the so-called “Partner Interoperability Advocacy Group” (PIAG), which are not members of NATO but participate in the Partnership for Peace (PfP). These are the neutral countries Austria, Ireland and Switzerland, as well as Australia and New Zealand. The PIAG countries have the status of non-NATO nations, but individual security agreements allow them to exchange classified information and participate in NATO training and exercises. The Chiefs of Staff stated that the current security environment clearly demonstrates the increased importance and necessity of cooperation with partners, particularly with regard to interoperability.
For the PIAG countries, the focus is indeed on strengthening these capabilities and a Chief of Staff can exchange information with his counterparts on current developments and opportunities in the areas of cyber defense, military mobility and innovation as well as participation in NATO exercises. These are open to the partner countries and provide important insights for verifying the strengthening of their own capabilities.
The aim is to make a contribution to Europe’s security and to expand cooperation in order to strengthen the defense capability of the armed forces and thus also strengthen Austria’s security. At a meeting with their Indo-Pacific partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, the NATO defense chiefs also discussed how regional security issues in Asia – keyword China/Taiwan/West Pacific – are increasingly becoming global security issues. Another topic was how training and exchange opportunities can be developed in even closer cooperation. At the end of the day, the Chiefs of Staff then met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss political priorities in the Alliance in preparation for the summit in Washington D.C.
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