WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — NATO celebrated 75 years this month with a summit of world leaders in D.C., but not every state in the U.S. is protected by the treaty.
The 32-member military agreement says an attack on one is an attack on all but that doesn’t include Hawaii.
“This really is a technicality on paper,” Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii.) said.
Hawaii Congresswoman Jill Tokuda says it’s because Hawaii is south of NATO’s cutoff: the Tropic of Cancer, and it became a state a decade after NATO was signed. That was 75 years ago.
“We’re not in a world today that we were in 1949,” Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii.) said.
Hawaii Congressman Ed Case says today’s threats from China and Russia warrant protection by the alliance. That’s why he wrote a letter to the Secretary of State in May asking for Hawaii to be formally added.
“You don’t want to wait until it happens to figure out whether other countries will regard themselves as bound to a mutual defense obligation,” Case said.
The State Department wrote back, saying an attack would “almost certainly draw Allied reaction,” but said an amendment would be “unlikely” because the U.S. isn’t the only ally with territory outside the treaty area.
Tokuda says the U.S. military presence, plus frequent exercises with other countries, make the exclusion less a concern to constituents.
“Because they see so actively right there in our community oftentimes, the presence of other countries,” Tokuda said.
She says strengthening ties in the Indo-Pacific should be a bigger focus.
Case says it’s worth pursuing. He said he’s considering legislation to urge the State Department to support an amendment, or he may go directly to NATO’s Secretary General.
“I don’t think it’s cause for tremendous alarm,” Case said. “But it’s nice to get things confirmed.”
Case isn’t the only lawmaker who wants to see Hawaii included in NATO. Twelve senators wrote their own letter to the Secretary of State earlier this month to call for the change.
