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Japan has announced it is in talks to open a liaison office for transatlantic military alliance, NATO, the first of its kind in Asia.
The country’s foreign minister revealed this on Wednesday, May 10 saying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made the world 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.
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.
“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.”
The opening of a NATO liaison office in Japan would attract criticism from the Chinese government, which has previously warned against such a move.
NATO has similar liaison offices in other places including Ukraine and Vienna. The liaison office in Japan will enable discussions with NATO’s security partners, such as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, on geopolitical challenges, emerging and disruptive technologies, and cyber threats.
Due to the war, Finland and Sweden abandoned their neutrality to seek protection within NATO, with Finland formally joining the bloc last month.
