By Zhang Xiaoli

张小丽

Just as several NATO members gathered their aircraft carriers for a joint military exercise on the Atlantic to demonstrate solidarity, the organization’s internal strife over personnel arrangement has come to the fore. Recently the UK and France traded barbs intensely regarding the appointment of the next NATO secretary general. French president Macron strongly objected to a British candidate, while the UK accused him of being “Anglo-phobic”. This argument not only reflected the long-standing conflicts between the two countries but also revealed their widely different strategies.

正当北约多国集结多艘航母在大西洋举行联合军演展现“团结”之际，北约内部因人事问题爆发的内讧也浮上台面。近日，英法两国围绕下一届北约秘书长人选展开激烈博弈和交锋。法国总统马克龙坚决反对英国候选人担任北约新任秘书长，英国方面则称马克龙患上了“恐英症”。这一内讧事件不仅反映出英法两国累积的长期矛盾，也透露出两国战略的截然不同。

The current NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg came into office in 2014 and was originally expected to step down on October 1, 2022, but his term was extended for a year with the unanimous approval of NATO members considering the breakout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the overall European situation. Therefore, he will leave office on September 30, 2023, before which the members will need to discuss who will take the helm from him.

北约现任秘书长斯托尔滕贝格于2014年上任，按规定应于2022年10月1日卸任。不过，由于俄乌冲突爆发，出于欧洲局势考虑，北约各成员国同意斯托尔滕贝格任期延长1年。这意味着斯托尔滕贝格将于2023年9月30日自动离任，北约成员国也因此需提前就下一届北约秘书长人选展开讨论。

Now the UK and France, two major members of the organization, are locking horns on who the successor should be. It is reported that London hoped to put its Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on the chair in 2023, but Paris is opposed to any British candidate and would not hesitate to veto such a nomination. London was very angry with this and a conservative parliament member directly called Macron “Anglo-phobic”.

然而，英法这两个北约主要成员国却在新任秘书长人选问题上较上了劲。据报道，英国希望本国国防大臣本•华莱士在2023年接任新一届北约秘书长。对此，法国政府直接浇上一盆冷水。法国方面表示，反对任何英国候选人担任下一届北约秘书长，甚至不惜动用否决权。英国对此十分愤怒，该国一名保守党议员直接抨击马克龙患有“恐英症”。

In recent years, the UK and France have had major divergences on a range of issues, including fishery disputes, immigration, and relations with Russia. Their division was widened by the Australian nuclear submarine deal in 2021 when the US and the UK joined hands in stealing the submarine deal from France. Macron privately called the then British prime minister Johnson a clown and called back the French ambassador to London.

近年来，英法两国在渔业争端、移民问题、对俄关系问题等方面存在很大分歧。尤其是2021年的澳大利亚核潜艇事件，美国联合英国抢夺法国与澳大利亚的潜艇订单，加深了英法两国之间的裂痕。马克龙曾私下称时任英国首相约翰逊为“小丑”，甚至召回驻英大使。

Other than that, the two countries’ divergence over NATO’s personnel arrangement also reveals their strategic misalignment.

除了上述问题，英法两国在北约人事问题上的分歧，也透露出两国在战略层面的矛盾。

France, known for its cultural diversity that inherently prefers multilateralism, is inclined toward diplomatic independence and wants to exert its status as a major country. As early as 1959, the then-French president Charles de Gaulle put forth the geopolitical strategy that Europe belonged to the Europeans. Within the EU, France has always been trying to promote strategic independence and break away from the security reliance on the US. The incumbent president Macron, upholding this tradition of diplomatic independence, has carefully kept a distance from Washington. He once called NATO “brain dead” and proposed an ambitious plan to develop military forces of Europe’s own.

法国文化特性中带有多元化、多边主义基因，倾向于采取独立外交路线，力图展现大国地位。早在1959年，时任法国总统戴高乐便提出“欧洲是欧洲人的欧洲”的地缘政治战略。在欧盟内部，法国一直希望推动欧洲战略自主，摆脱对美国的安全依赖。现任总统马克龙在外交上继承了法国独立自主的传统。他小心翼翼地与华盛顿保持一定距离，也曾直言不讳地批评北约“脑死亡”，并提出雄心勃勃的“欧洲军”计划。

As an island country, what Britain desires most is a balance of power and the avoidance of a dominant player on the European continent, which is why it has followed the policy of offshore balance and splendid isolation – an important reason for Brexit. After leaving the union, Britain has become a loner in Europe marginalized from the mainstream circle of international relations. Against such a background, it chose to continue intensifying the special relationship with the US, not only following it on everything but even completely taking its side on the diplomatic front. London’s nomination of Ben Wallace to be the new NATO chief was also to help the US maximize its control over Europe.

作为岛国，英国最关心欧洲大陆势力平衡，最担心欧洲大陆出现强主，一直奉行离岸平衡和光荣孤立政策。这一政策思维也是英国脱离欧盟的重要历史动因。“脱欧”后的英国，在欧洲成了“孤家寡人”，游走于欧洲主流国际关系圈之外。在此背景下，英国选择继续强化美英特殊关系，更是唯美国马首是瞻，甚至在外交领域全面倒向美国。此次，英国推举国防大臣华莱士作为新一届北约秘书长人选，意在帮助美国对欧洲实施最大化控制。

Committed to advancing Europe’s strategic independence, France definitely would do everything to keep the position safely from the Brits, who are literally just a mouthpiece for the US, otherwise European independence would be further weakened, as Paris believes the UK will act on America’s orders and wishes regardless of Europe’s security. The Russia-Ukraine conflict since February has also made it realize that both London and Washington are just thinking about how to enhance their military presence in Europe and fish more profits from the conflict.

对一心想推动欧洲战略自主的法国来说，北约秘书长一职断然不能落入与美国关系密切的英国人手中，否则只会进一步削弱欧洲的自主性。法国方面认为，英国将按照美国意图行事，不会在乎欧洲的安全。今年2月以来的俄乌冲突也让法国意识到，无论是英国还是美国，他们考虑最多的都是如何增强在欧洲的军事存在，如何在冲突中更多渔利。

By convention, the appointment of NATO secretary general shall only be valid with the agreement of all members. Since France has expressed its firm opposition, it’s unlikely that the next NATO chief will come from the UK, unless of course the two countries reach some kind of compromise. Canada, Croatia, Estonia and Lithuania have all nominated their candidates, and an even more heated battle over who will be the next man at the wheel of NATO can be expected.

按照北约内部惯例，北约秘书长人选需得到所有成员国同意。考虑到法国已明确表示强烈反对，估计由英国人出任新一届北约秘书长的可能性不大，除非两国达成某种意义上的妥协。目前，加拿大、克罗地亚、爱沙尼亚、立陶宛等国均已提名本国北约新任秘书长候选人，预计北约内部将围绕新掌门人选展开更加激烈的博弈。