- Saturday, May 18, 2024
The former US ambassador to the United Nations said if former US president Donald Trump wins in this year’s election, it will pose a threat to the NATO alliance.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN-AMERICAN Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has said that if she wins the election on November 5, her administration will not only strengthen the alliance with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) but also with other nations, including India, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.
The former US ambassador to the United Nations, the 52-year-old Haley said if former US president Donald Trump wins in this year’s election, it will pose a threat to the alliance and she is worried about it.
“I’m worried about a lot of things if Trump is re-elected. That is one of them,” Haley told ABC News, adding that NATO is a 75-year success story.
The Indian-origin leader is currently fighting a tough battle to beat Trump to win the GOP nomination for the election.
Read: India wants to be partner with US but sees Washington as weak: Nikki Haley
She is the only candidate left against Trump, who lost to incumbent president Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Haley, the two-term former governor from South Carolina, Russia has never invaded a NATO country because Russia has typically been very intimidated by this alliance.
The NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance of 31 member states – 29 European and two North American.
Read: Differing identities of Haley and Harris
Even China is intimidated by this alliance. So, keeping NATO strong is important, Haley said.
Haley was responding to a question on the remarks by Trump in South Carolina a week ago that he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t meet spending guidelines on defence.
Adding more friends to the fold is important. This is not the time to leave an alliance. This is not the time to side with a thug and not side with friends, who stood with America after the September 11 attacks, Haley said.
“We have to make sure that we stand firm. Because when we stand firm with our friends, our enemies stay on their heels. When we start to show any weakening of those alliances, that’s when our enemies move. That’s why we’re seeing China on the march. That’s why we’re seeing Iran want to build a nuclear bomb. That’s why we’re seeing Russia start to move towards Poland and the Baltics,” she said.
“And that’s what I promise I will do as president, is we not only will strengthen NATO, we will strengthen alliances with India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines. We will add to the fold. This is about America having more friends, not less friends,” Haley said in response to a question.
The US is currently a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad which also features India, Australia and Japan, which is viewed as a counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Haley called Trump’s NATO comments “bone-chilling” and empowering to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“And all he did in that moment was, he sided with a guy who kills his political opponents, he sided with a thug who arrests American journalists and holds them hostage,” she said.
Haley alleged that Biden, a Democrat, has also failed on multiple fronts.
“That has emboldened our enemies. That’s why you see them moving. It happened after the fall of Afghanistan. It is continuing to happen. Then they go and they see the other opponent running for – for president and they see that he doesn’t worry about Putin invading Ukraine. So, what does Putin do? He goes and now he’s starting to put soldiers around the Baltics. He’s moving in for the next era,” she said.
“Let’s remind the American people that Putin said once he takes Ukraine, Poland and the Baltics are next. Now he is putting soldiers around those countries, just like he did Ukraine. And if that happens, those are NATO countries. That immediately puts America at war. That is what we are trying to avoid. And that’s why this aid package is so important,” she said.
(With PTI inputs)
