SOFIA, April 27: Under US pressure, Nato launched a debate on Thursday on forging formal partnerships with Pacific rim states such as Australia and New Zealand as it expands its role to fight threats around the globe.

Nato chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the Alliance ‘has to spread its wings because it is increasingly being called upon’, as foreign ministers from the 26-nation organisation gathered for a two-day meeting in Bulgaria.

The proposal to forming privileged ties with Australia and New Zealand — and possibly South Korea and Japan as well — would reflect the active role those countries play in Nato missions, while falling short of full membership.

The idea is to bring into Nato’s sphere of influence ‘like-minded, democratic nations that do have similar interests ... in global security’, a Nato official said in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.

Nato spokesman James Appathurai told reporters that the Alliance had no intention to become ‘a global policeman’ or shift its centre of gravity away from its Euro-Atlantic roots.

He said that Australia and New Zealand were the top candidates for Nato partnerships “because they are already in the field with us, next to us, contributing to our operations”.

For Washington, a special Nato partnership with Australia, Japan and South Korea would reinforce military links to countries contributing to its ad hoc ‘coalition of the willing’ in Iraq.—AFP