China News Network, June 6 According to the British "Financial Times" on the 6th, citing sources familiar with the matter, French President Emmanuel Macron opposes NATO's plan to open a liaison office in Tokyo, Japan. Macron believes that NATO should continue to focus on the North Atlantic region.
Infographic: French President Emmanuel Macron.
The establishment of a NATO liaison office would require unanimous support from the NATO Council, meaning France has the right to block the move.
Macron reportedly said at a meeting last week that NATO should not expand its scope beyond the North Atlantic, adding that "we will make a big mistake" if it pushes NATO to expand its geographical scope, etc.
Discussions within NATO for months about establishing the first "outpost" in the "Indo-Pacific" have become more complicated due to French opposition, eight people familiar with the matter said.
A French official said the French side believed the alliance was required by the NATO charter to limit its geographic reach to the North Atlantic. A person familiar with the debate within NATO also said France was reluctant to support anything that would cause "tension between NATO and China."
NATO declined to give details of the "ongoing discussions."
It was previously reported that Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg confirmed in an interview with the media that the two sides are consulting on the opening of a liaison office for NATO in Japan. In addition, it is reported that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may hold talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO summit in July to discuss plans to open a liaison office.
China has responded many times to the establishment of a liaison office between NATO and Japan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a regular press conference on May 5 that China has always believed that the development of relations between countries should be conducive to world peace and stability, and should not target or harm the interests of third parties.
Mao Ning pointed out that the Asia-Pacific region is not the geographical scope of the North Atlantic, and NATO's eastward advance into the Asia-Pacific region is bound to undermine regional peace and stability. Countries and peoples in the region are highly vigilant against this and resolutely oppose any words and deeds that introduce military blocs and provoke separatism and confrontation. Japan should draw lessons from history, adhere to the path of peaceful development, and refrain from doing anything that undermines mutual trust among countries in the region and undermines regional peace and stability.