Illustration: Chen Xia/Global Times

NATO will hold a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, from July 11 to 12. The main agenda of the summit involves three aspects: the issue of Ukraine, Sweden's accession?to?NATO membership and how to participate in Asia-Pacific affairs to address the challenges posed by China's rise. 

Based on reports, NATO member countries have varying degrees of differences on these three issues. However, these three issues highlight NATO's aggressiveness rather than its contraction and retreat.

Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, NATO member countries have strengthened their cohesion under the banner of Western civilization-based ideology. At the same time, an increasing number of member countries and leaders have displayed a stronger ambition toward NATO's expansion than before. This is different from NATO's traditional policy which focuses on defense.

NATO's aggressiveness is not only an expansion of military deterrence but also an expansion of values. It is precisely due to this "original intention" of expansion that NATO incorporates so-called global security into its vision.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told media at NATO headquarters in Brussels in mid June that NATO is and will remain an alliance for North America and Europe, but it sees strong value in strengthening the partnership with its Indo-Pacific partners. 

While we observe different opinions within NATO regarding involvement in the Asia-Pacific region, what we should pay more attention to is the strong sense of expansion that is continuously brewing within NATO.

The existing disagreements within NATO regarding expansion are not fundamentally about whether or not to expand but rather about what kind of expansion to pursue, whether it should be slower or faster. 

Although France opposes NATO setting up a liaison office in Japan, regardless of whether it is eventually established or not, the fact that this issue has been raised indicates NATO is already more inclined toward expanding into the Asia-Pacific region. 

A NATO that is more ideologically cohesive and feels a heightened sense of urgency regarding threats will also be more inclined toward expansion.

The expansion of Western civilization to this day is inseparable from its aggressive and offensive nature. Of course, it has also achieved progress in civilization through expansion, to the extent that it has established a basic security order in Europe. However, when challenged, the aggressive elements in its nature become more active and proactive. 

Countries like Lithuania, which consider themselves part of Western civilization, have a strong sense of belonging that drives them to strongly exhibit Western attributes ideologically and have a stronger desire for NATO's eastward expansion. This is because they believe only through eastward expansion can they safeguard their own security when facing the threat of Russian civilization. 

NATO's expansion is an inherent need of Western civilization, driven by its internal impulses. Without expansion, Western civilization would not have its current comprehensive dominance in various fields such as economy, finance, culture and science. 

If NATO, as a military organization, continues its expansion momentum and builds its future security on expansion, the future world order will face more intense conflicts, and the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region will become more confrontational.

The desired balance that more Asia-Pacific countries hope to achieve not only remains unattainable, but also the problems stemming from traditional, historical, and in some cases, ethnic conflicts and religious tensions directly caused by the past colonial invasions of Western powers will persist and be reignited.

China cannot allow Western military forces to intervene in any way in its internal affairs issues, and China already has the capability to counter such interference.

NATO, as a military organization, is leading Western civilization down a wrong and perilous path. The result is likely to be that Western civilization may face unprecedented setbacks in the most economically vibrant region of the world due to NATO's infiltration into the Asia-Pacific.