P O I N T O F V I E W We have fully entered the grey zone, the theatre of operations of the 21st century, marked by actions that, though significantly altering peace, do not cross the thresholds that would allow or require an armed response. Cyberattacks, propaganda campaigns, sabotage, undercover or clandestine operations, organised riots; all of the former are actions designed by our adversaries to create a climate of misinformation and confusion to destabilise and weaken our position. NATO’s response in this field has been swift and the Alliance is already working on measures to help those countries that may fall prey to hybrid attacks and request assistance. The official declaration of NATO’s Brussels Summit affirms that a hybrid attack of sufficient intensity could justify invoking Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. However, in the management of this particular conflict —in which it is difficult to define the degree of intensity and who is behind it— the national authorities of each Ally must continue to play an essential and irreplaceable role. Lastly, we must mention China: is the new China that wants to play at being a leading international actor a threat, a challenge or an opportunity? NATO Our Heads of State and Government who recently met in London had to speak about China. Until now, China had been considered an actor outside NATO’s area of responsibility. However, it is clear that in a global world the non-stop rise of China has implications in the field of security for the West and therefore for NATO. For the Alliance, China offers obvious opportunities for cooperation in many fields but it also represents a challenge, and even a threat in some security aspects, mainly those linked to the new 5G networks. I would like to end with a final reflection. Probably NATO’s greatest challenge on its 70th anniversary is not Russia, China, or the fight against international terrorism: the greatest challenge is the perception that the citizens of the Allied nations —and particularly young people— have regarding the need for the Alliance to exist at all. Seventy years, or rather seventy-four, without a world war, with ups and downs but without a world war, have allowed unparalleled economic and social growth on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, but these years have also made younger generations forget that NATO was an essential tool to avoid a global nuclear conflict. We cannot work efficiently against old and new threats if our societies do not consider them as such. This, and nothing else, is the great challenge that the Alliance is facing today on its 70th anniversary. L 50 Revista Española de Defensa December 2019
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