Hawaii should be protected by NATO?

Should Hawaii Be Included Under NATO's Defense Umbrella? Student Instructor Institution Course and Code Date Should Hawaii Be Included Under NATO’s Defense Umbrella? Introduction The factors as to whether Hawaii, a state in the United States, should be under the NATO alliance have been a tender issue in the policy-making circles, military strategists, and the general population. Today, NATO Treaty Article 5 binds all member states to collective defense only ‘in the North Atlantic area’, thus leaving out places such as Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam. However, the current geopolitical environment is witnessing an intensification of military conflicts in the Indo-Pacific area, particularly due to the growing influence of China and North Korea. In this context, Hawaii's isolation from the NATO protection system deserves reconsideration. Thus, this essay provides compelling reasons why Hawaii must be considered under Article 5 NATO clause, including the Military importance of Hawaii, its Integrated system of defense against global threats, and emerging warfare tactics. Strategic Military Importance of Hawaii Hawaii plays a significant part in the steadfast strategic position of the United States in the Pacific, being a crucial stage of the U.S. military and a countermeasure against possible opponents, including those in the Indo-Pacific region. As stated by Brennan in 2024, Hawaii is strategically important because the state has to spy on Chinese and North Korean actions; therefore, it has a significant role in the stability of the Pacific area. Hawaii’s exclusion from the NATO defense protection exposes a severe gap in the U.S. Moreover, allied defense alliance map that hostile nations may exploit in attacking this region. This overall strategic misstep may vitiate the U.S. military’s very application of force and the protection of interest in the area. Furthermore, Hawaii is host to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which stands as the biggest among the unified combatant commands of the United States, spearheading all the U.S. vicinity in the Asia-Pacific. However, as Stilwell (2022) pointed out, Hawaii is home to the significant military logistics and operational base, Pearl Harbor, where the American military personnel and the allies operate under defense pacts. Lack of protection from the NATO alliance poses a weakness to the positioning of this strategic military installation, which threatens to upset the balance within the region. Need for a Unified Defense Strategy Global threats call for a coordinated defense mechanism be...