Palmetto State News

U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate NATO Observer Group, has joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and 10 other senators in urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to address Hawai‘i’s exclusion from the North Atlantic Treaty as military threats in the Indo-Pacific region rise. In their letter, the senators expressed concerns about Hawai‘i not being covered under Article 6 of the Treaty, which would mean an armed attack on Hawai‘i would not trigger a collective defense response from NATO.

“When the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recommended the Senate ratify the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949, it was with the understanding that overseas territories would not be covered by Article 6,” wrote the senators. “At the time, Hawai‘i was a U.S. territory and the drafters of the Treaty were reluctant to include all territories of the Treaty Parties under the NATO security umbrella. However, the world has changed significantly since 1949.”

The letter highlights that since becoming a U.S. state, Hawai‘i’s strategic importance to U.S. security in the Indo-Pacific has increased substantially. Despite NATO expanding from its original 12 founding members to 32, it has not included Hawai‘i under its security provisions nor accounted for its strategic significance.

“Allies and adversaries alike must understand now, before potential hostilities erupt, that an attack against Hawai‘i will be seen as an attack on NATO,” continued the senators. They emphasized that amending the North Atlantic Treaty is necessary to deter conflict in the Indo-Pacific and protect both residents of Hawai‘i and broader U.S. interests.

The senators called on diplomatic measures from the State Department to address this issue promptly, including potential short-term clarifications from NATO's North Atlantic Council regarding treaty language.

Joining Senators Scott and Schatz on this letter were Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).

The full text of their letter is available online.