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Updated: 15 October 1999 Speeches

NATO HQ
15 Oct. 1999

Opening Remarks

by NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson at the NATO-Japan Security Conference

Deputy Minister Kato,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is indeed a great pleasure to receive our distinguished colleagues from Japan. You may know that I started my new job just yesterday. So opening this conference is my first "official" function as Secretary General of NATO. Let me tell you that I am very proud that the NATO-Japan Conference is the first item on my agenda. Nothing could illustrate better that the world is changing, that globalisation is affecting us all, and that only through cooperation -- across nations and even across continents -- can we cope with the challenges of the next century.


This conference is the fifth event of its kind, and each conference brings a new perspective, and new benefits. We on the NATO side have gained much from previous conferences, and we have greatly appreciated the contacts we have been able to make. Our aim over the course of this day is to enhance our mutual understanding and strengthen our friendship. The world is changing in Europe and in Asia. Japan and the Allies share common democratic values and wish to play a constructive part in building a peaceful world. On both continents we understand the value of these exchanges.

The end of the Cold War has affected Europe and Asia in very different ways, yet both regions face one crucial question in common: whether we witness a return to older patterns of behaviour - and instability - or whether we are able to reach a new quality of security through effective multilateral approaches. Both regions may therefore be at something of a "crossroads" -- and it is thus only natural that we examine together possible mechanisms and instruments to deal with the new challenges.

The 21st century will offer no shortage of challenges. Globalisation, for example, offers our societies the opportunity to become more creative and prosperous; but it also makes them more vulnerable. The rapid dissemination of technology and information offers entirely new ways of production - but can bring also the spectre of more states developing weapons of mass destruction. And regional conflicts will confront us with a cruel choice between costly indifference and costly engagement.

No nation can master these challenges in isolation. Only a cooperative approach offers the chance to cope.

Both the Alliance and Japan have understood the need for new policies to deal with new challenges. Both the Alliance and Japan are undertaking new responsibilities in the aftermath of the Cold War. Although our focus of activity is in different parts of the world, we have many points of common interest. This is especially so as we share an interest in promoting regional and global stability. We are both, for example, interested in building a constructive relationship with Russia. And we both are concerned about the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

In the past years NATO has made an important contribution to regional stability, by engaging itself in the search for long-term peace in the Balkans. Japan, in turn, has supported the UN in humanitarian missions, for example in Cambodia and Africa, and is a member of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council in Bosnia. As we adjust to the regional and global challenges of the emerging world order, we stand to benefit from sharing our experiences through a growing NATO-Japan dialogue.

The last NATO-Japan conference was two years ago. Since then, much has happened. 1999 has been one of the most crucial years of NATO's history. In April, NATO leaders convened in Washington to set the agenda of the Alliance for the next century. We welcomed three new members: the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. We deepened our partnerships with more than 20 nations across the Euro-Atlantic area. We launched new initiatives to enhance our defence capabilities, and to strengthen NATO's role in coping with the spread of weapons of mass destruction. We decided on means to give more responsibility to the European Allies, for the sake of a more equitable transatlantic relationship. And we adopted a New Strategic Concept to set the stage for NATO's new roles in the next century.

The Washington Summit , therefore, was much more than a celebration of NATO's 50th anniversary. It set the stage for an Alliance ready to tackle the challenges ahead. The decisions and initiatives of the Summit will ensure that NATO remains responsive to the security needs of the next Century.

But, as you all know, another event turned out to be even more crucial -- the Kosovo crisis. This crisis became a major challenge in the history of the Atlantic Alliance. For the first time, a defensive Alliance launched a military campaign in order to avoid a humanitarian tragedy outside its own borders. For the first time, an Alliance of sovereign nations did not fight in order to preserve its territorial integrity, or to conquer territory, but to protect the values on which it was founded. And, despite many challenges, it prevailed.

The debate that NATO's actions has sparked about the relationship between values and interests, and between humanitarian needs and state sovereignty, also reverberated in Asia. Here at NATO we noted with great interest the debate in Asia about Kosovo. And we were fully aware of the difficulty of making our policies sufficiently understood.

But we believed that there was no alternative to taking action the way we did. The policy of ethnic cleansing we witnessed in Kosovo displayed a degree of cynicism and disregard for fundamental human rights that we believed had been overcome for good. And we realised that if Europe is to enter the 21st century as a community of democracy, pluralism, and human rights, it simply could not tolerate this carnage at its centre. That is why, after all diplomatic means had been exhausted, we took the decision to act -- not to abandon diplomacy, but to create the conditions for diplomacy to work again.

Today, almost a million refugees have returned home. Yugoslavia's neighbours no longer face the threat of instability. The United Nations, NATO and its Partner countries are cooperating on the ground to create a more stable environment for other institutions to do their work of reconstruction. The European Union has pledged its assistance to Southeastern Europe more widely, and NATO will support these measures in the security domain.

Japan, which has supported the peace-building process in Bosnia with considerable financial contributions, has also committed itself generously in support of the peace-building efforts in Kosovo. We warmly appreciate that.

Clearly, the cohesion and solidarity of the NATO Allies was a key factor in the success of NATO's air campaign. 19 democracies, including NATO's three new members, stood firm, knowing that this was more than a question of preserving NATO's credibility: it was a question of whether our vision of a democratic and humane Europe could prevail over a policy of intolerance and xenophobia. We have always said that NATO is a community of values. In Kosovo, we proved it.

What was also crucial was the resounding support we received from our Partner countries. For example, all nations neighbouring Yugoslavia, despite suffering economic losses, supported the Alliance. And many Partners declared their willingness to participate in a NATO-led peacekeeping force for Kosovo. Never has the strategic value of NATO's policy of partnership and outreach been expressed more clearly. Today, a NATO without Partners has become unthinkable.

The crisis in Kosovo also affected the NATO-Russia relationship, a relationship that is crucial for achieving our goal of a new, cooperative security order in Europe. And yet, even though Russia and NATO disagreed on Kosovo, up to the point of Russia suspending her formal cooperation with us, Russia did not remain out of the picture entirely. In the end, Russia played a crucial role in the search for a political settlement. And, as you all know, Russia is now part of the international military presence in Kosovo. Quite obviously, then, Russia acted very much in the tradition of Russian "realpolitik": action based on interests, not sentiments.

Kosovo proved that even if Russia may sometimes appear to be part of the problem, it can also be made a part of the solution. Western firmness, coupled with the willingness to keep the door open for a constructive Russian role, has paid off. The formal cooperation between Russia and NATO has resumed. In short, NATO and Russia are destined to cooperate. And such a constructive relationship clearly is in the interest of Japan as well.

In short, the Alliance's response to the Kosovo crisis reaffirmed the logic of NATO's reform post-Cold War -- the need to have Partners, the need for strong relations with Russia, the need to maintain NATO's military competence, and, above all, the need for a strong and vibrant transatlantic relationship. It also reaffirmed the values and principles on which the Alliance is based -- values not only endorsed by the 19 Allies, but also by NATO's Partners. Values that we share with our friends from Japan.

Deputy Minister Kato,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Soon we will enter a new century and indeed a new millennium. As with any moments of high symbolic value, some approach this date with high expectations, others with scepticism. One hundred years ago, when the 19th century ended, there was a widespread expectation among most Europeans, that the approaching new century would be one of unprecedented peace and prosperity. Their optimism was, unfortunately, not to be realised.

But history does not repeat itself. We have instruments that our predecessors lacked. We can shape the future. We can adopt policies that no longer just safeguard security, but that actively promote it. In this respect, we appreciate the greater role Japan is playing in promoting stability. In this interconnected world, security is indivisible. We cannot afford to disconnect ourselves from what is happening elsewhere. The Alliance, too, has a full agenda. Throughout this conference we shall compare notes with interest and mutual benefit on the emerging trends in Europe and in Asia. Again, I welcome you as an honoured guest and friend and look forward to your remarks.

Thank you.

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