Japan has declared that it is in talks to create the first liaison office for the transatlantic military alliance, NATO, in Asia.
On Wednesday, May 10, the country’s foreign minister stated that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had made the globe less stable.
“We are already in discussions, but no details (have been) finalized yet,” Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said to CNN on Wednesday.
He said the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year had repercussions far beyond Europe’s borders that forced Japan to rethink regional security.
“The reason why we are discussing about this is that since the aggression by Russia to Ukraine, the world (has) become more unstable,” he said.
“Something happening in East Europe is not only confined to the issue in East Europe, and that affects directly the situation here in the Pacific. That’s why a cooperation between us in East Asia and NATO (is) becoming … increasingly important.”
He added that Japan is not a treaty member of NATO, which stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – but that the move sends a message the bloc’s Asia Pacific partners are “engaging in a very steady manner” with NATO.
The establishment of a NATO liaison office in Japan would be frowned upon by the Chinese government, which has repeatedly cautioned against such a move.
NATO has liaison offices in several countries, notably Ukraine and Vienna. The liaison office in Japan will facilitate conversations on geopolitical concerns, emerging and disruptive technologies, and cyber threats with NATO’s security allies, including South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
As a result of the war, Finland and Sweden abandoned their neutrality in order to seek safety within NATO, with Finland formally joining the alliance last month.