Flag of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Español: Bandera de la Organización del Tratado del Atlántico Norte (OTAN). Polski: Flaga Paktu Północnoatlantyckiego (NATO). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

China’s hard-hitting newspaper, the Global Times highlights the differences between Trump’s US and other NATO allies, in particular in Europe. It argues that the US has built giant security assets overseas in the post WWII era and warns that now that the US economic advantage has become less prominent, what Trump wants to do is to “sell” some of the geopolitical assets in exchange for cash.

Trump NATO speech breaks Europe’s heart – Global Times

For years now, Canada, Germany, and to a lesser extent France, have got off lightly in paying their share towards NATO. It’s just not fair to other members like the the US and the UK who have their own financial problems. Of course, there’s a right and a wrong way to apply international pressure. Sadly, Trump bluntness and unpredictability are weakening the NATO alliance and analysts are increasingly factoring the heightened risk of WWIII being triggered by a rogue escalation.

Thoughts?