North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), NATO Plus

Context (TH): The U.S. has expressed openness to greater engagement with India within NATO, with discussions of including India in the NATO-Plus framework.
India rejects the idea because joining this NATO framework, which primarily aims to contain China, can potentially undermine India’s autonomy.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

NATO is a political and military alliance created in the aftermath of World War II by 12 countries from Europe and North America in 1949.
The headquarters of NATO is in Brussels, Belgium, while the Allied Command Operations headquarters is near Mons, Belgium.
During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union.
The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.

North Atlantic Council is NATO’s principal political decision-making body.
The principle of collective defence is enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which commits NATO members to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.

Currently, NATO comprises 31 countries (29 European + 2 North American).
NATO makes its decisions by consensus. Hence, if a new country wants to join NATO, it must be supported by all other members. Any of its member countries can veto a new member.
For example, Turkey opposes Sweden’s wish to join NATO due to its alleged support of Kurdish militants.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, questions were raised about NATO’s relevance and future.
NATO succeeded in refashioning from collective defence to collective security.
It has been a mutually beneficial arrangement, offering security to Europe at a low price.
For the U.S., NATO has been an ideal vehicle for power projection worldwide.
NATO has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.

Nato Plus is a grouping of NATO and five countries — Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, and South Korea. The group works toward boosting global defence cooperation.

India would gain access to seamless intelligence sharing between these countries.
India would get access to the latest military technology without much of a time lag.
It would further strengthen India’s defence partnership with the United States.

Switzerland, Moldova and Belarus are neither NATO nor EU members.
Austria is a member of the EU but not NATO
The UK is a member of NATO but not the EU.

It was a collective defence treaty signed in 1955 by Russia and 7 other states to counter the US-led NATO. (All these 7 states are now members of NATO)
It was abolished in 1991.

The USSR’s successor Russia and some other post-Soviet states joined the CSTO in 1992.
Current members of CSTO are Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Belarus.