Insight: US politics has, as so often, overshadowed everything else in recent days. One event that deserved more attention was last week’s NATO summit, which took another step forward in cooperation between the Euro-Atlantic defense organization and its allies in Asia. Leaders from Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand attended the summit in Washington for the third year in a row.
Impact: When NATO first invited these partners to its meetings the aim was to affirm common ground on general principles. This year the talk was much more specific and about getting their respective defense industries to cooperate. With western weapons stockpiles being used up rapidly in Ukraine, there is an opportunity for arms exporters like Australia and Korea to resupply the US and EU countries. And longer term, it makes sense to share technology and develop common defense platforms, such as the new fighter jet being built jointly by the UK, Italy and Japan.