Austin in the Philippines to discuss the strengthening of the US military presence

NATO is asking for the support of more countries with the convergence of China and Russia

Austin upon his arrival in the Philippines for talks on the deployment of US forces and weapons.

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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday that the growing hostilities of China and its cooperation with Russia pose a threat not only to Asia, but also to Europe, as the alliance seeks to gain more cooperation and friends in the Indo-Pacific region, while the minister discussed US Defense Lloyd Austin, in the Philippines strengthen the US military presence.

Stoltenberg pointed to China's intensification of its investments in the areas of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles without providing a degree of transparency or entering into a meaningful dialogue on arms control, at a time when it is escalating with self-ruled Taiwan, which China says is its own territory.

Stoltenberg told students at Keio University in Tokyo, “The rapprochement between Russia and China, the large investments made by China and the new advanced military capabilities, confirm that China poses a threat and a challenge at the time to NATO allies.

So the message that we would like to send again is that security is not regional, but rather global.

And security is interconnected.”

"NATO needs to make more friends," he added.

We should work closely with our partners in the Indo-Pacific region.”

He added that China is increasingly working with Russia and leading an "authoritarian campaign" against the rules-based, open and democratic international order.

Stoltenberg stressed that NATO does not consider China an adversary and does not seek confrontation, and that the alliance will continue to cooperate with China in areas of mutual interest, such as climate change.

Besides Japan, NATO also seeks to enhance "practical cooperation" with Australia, New Zealand and South Korea in cybersecurity, maritime and other areas and to enhance the participation of their leaders and ministers in NATO meetings, he said.

On Tuesday, Kishida also announced Japan's plans to open a representative office in NATO.

Japan, already a close ally of the United States, has in recent years expanded its military ties with other Indo-Pacific countries, as well as with Britain, Europe and NATO, amid growing security threats from China and North Korea.

This comes at a time when Lloyd Austin arrived in the Philippines, yesterday, for talks about the deployment of US forces and weapons in more Philippine army bases to strengthen deterrence measures against the increasing Chinese actions towards Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Austin went on Tuesday night to Manila from South Korea, where he met his South Korean counterpart, and they held talks about the United States deploying advanced weapons, such as combat aircraft and bombers, on the Korean Peninsula to enhance joint training with South Korean forces in response to the growing North Korean nuclear threat. .

The Philippines, Washington's oldest ally in Asia, has been a major front in the United States' fight against terrorism, especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Recently, US forces have stepped up joint combat readiness and disaster response training with Philippine forces on the southeast Asian country's west coast. , located on the South China Sea, in the northern Luzon region across the sea from the Taiwan Strait.

It gave US forces access to five Philippine military bases, where they can stay indefinitely in rotating installments under a 2014 defense pact called the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

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