Czech security documents mention Russia, China as security threat for the first time

The Czech Republic has cited Russia and China as security threats for the first time in its strategic documents, according to iROZHLAS.

Previously, the two main documents of the Czech security and defense policy only referred to "some countries" or "instability and regional conflicts in the Euro-Atlantic space," Director of the Defense Ministry's defense policy and strategy section, Jan Jireš, told the server.

The Security Strategy from 2015 and Defense Strategy from 2017 define Czech attitudes, ambitions, and plans with regard to its security and defense policy. It is drawn up by the defense and foreign ministries.

The existing versions of strategic documents only refer to "countries that are seeking to revise the existing international arrangement" or "openly materialize power ambitions in eastern Europe, also with the use of military force."

Both documents will be updated to explicitly warn of the biggest threats, including terrorism, Russia, and China.

Although the current documents do not directly label Russia as a security threat to the Czech Republic, Jires emphasized that this shift in policy isn't surprising given NATO's new strategic concept, which identifies Russia as the main security threat in the Euro-Atlantic area.

The latest NATO strategic concept also mentions China for the first time as a "challenge for allied interests, security, and values."

As a NATO member, the Czech Republic agreed with the new NATO strategic concept at the NATO summit in Madrid in June.

"Now we will only transpose this into national strategic documents in the sphere of defense and security," Jireš said.