Continue to move east into the Asia-Pacific region! NATO will open a liaison office in Japan, and China calls for high vigilance

China News Network, May 5 According to the "Japan Economic News" reported on the 5th, the Japanese government and NATO relevant sources revealed that Japan and NATO will deepen cooperative relations in areas such as cyber defense, and open a liaison office in Tokyo in 4. In this regard, China said that NATO's continuous eastward advance into the Asia-Pacific region should arouse a high degree of vigilance among regional countries.

A relevant NATO source said, "I hope to invite Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to attend the summit in Lithuania in July." Hopefully before that comes together a new dimension of partnership plans. ”

It will be NATO's first liaison office in Asia and will be used for regular consultations with partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including Japan, South Korea and Australia. NATO will also determine with the Japanese government the size of the liaison office, etc.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (left) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on January 2023, 1, local time.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg first discussed the idea of opening a liaison office with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a visit to Tokyo at the end of January. The office is initially planned to be open in Tokyo in 1, but details on whether it will be funded by Japan or NATO are still being discussed.

Japan and NATO are developing an ITPP (Individual Targeted Partnership Plan) with specific cooperation measures, which will coordinate in-depth coverage in various areas such as cyber, space, and disinformation countermeasures.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on the 4th that Asia is a highland of peace and stability and a hot land for cooperative development, and should not become a gladiatorial arena for geopolitical competition. NATO's continuous eastward expansion into the Asia-Pacific region and interference in regional affairs is bound to undermine regional peace and stability and promote camp confrontation, which should arouse a high degree of vigilance among regional countries.