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Japan, NATO pledge 'firm' response to China, Russia threats

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (L) and Japan" s="" Prime="" Minister="" Fumio="" Kishida="" hold="" a="" joint="" media="" briefing="" in="" January="" Stoltenberg="" is="" visiting="" Japan="" to="" strengthen="" bilateral="" ties="" between="" the="" country="" and="" E.U.="" EPA-EFE="" Takashi="" Aoyama="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/01/31/20230131-japan.jpg"/><figcaption>NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (L) and Japan&#x27;s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hold a joint media briefing in Tokyo, Japan, 31 January 2023. Stoltenberg is visiting Japan to strengthen bilateral ties between the country and the E.U. <em>EPA-EFE/Takashi Aoyama / POOL</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>TOKYO—Japan and NATO must &quot;remain united and firm&quot; in the face of security threats posed by China, North Korea and Russia&#x27;s war in Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday in Tokyo.</p><p>Stoltenberg, secretary general of the European and North American military alliance, warned that Beijing was keeping a close eye on developments in Ukraine and &quot;learning lessons that may influence its future decisions&quot;.</p><p>He spoke alongside Japan&#x27;s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after the pair held talks as part of a trip to Asia by Stoltenberg aiming to boost ties with democratic allies.</p><p>&quot;What is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow. So we must remain united and firm, standing together for freedom and democracy,&quot; he said.</p><p>Stoltenberg and Kishida said they were worried by the increasing cooperation they saw between China and Russia.</p><p>&quot;We highlight with concern Russia&#x27;s growing military cooperation with China, including through joint operations and drills in the vicinity of Japan,&quot; they said in a joint statement.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/13/23/japan-racks-up-security-deals-with-eyes-on-china">Japan racks up new security deals with eyes on China</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/12/23/us-japan-talk-on-updating-alliance-as-china-worries-grow">US, Japan talk on updating alliance as China worries grow</a></li></ul><p>The previous day in Seoul, Stoltenberg asked South Korea to step up military support for Ukraine, which was invaded by its neighbor Russia nearly a year ago.</p><p>But on Tuesday, he praised the &quot;strong position&quot; and &quot;substantial support&quot; offered to Ukraine by Japan.</p><p>Tokyo has imposed sanctions on Moscow along with its G7 partners, and has taken the rare steps of sending defensive equipment and offering refuge to those fleeing the conflict.</p><p>Stoltenberg said he and Kishida also shared concern over North Korea&#x27;s &quot;provocative behavior&quot;, from nuclear activity to ballistic missile tests.</p><p>He said China was &quot;not our adversary&quot; but warned of its growing military presence in Asia &quot;including nuclear weapons, bullying neighbors and threatening Taiwan&quot;, as well as spreading disinformation about NATO and Ukraine.</p><p>Kishida said Japan would establish an independent representative office for its dealings with NATO as part of efforts to deepen ties.</p><p>The country will also consider regular participation in high-level meetings held by the alliance, Kishida added.</p><p>In December, Japan announced its largest shake-up to its defense and security strategy in decades.</p><p>The new strategy includes plans to raise defense spending to two percent of GDP by fiscal 2027, bringing Japan in line with NATO member guidelines.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kbv-kK9ngeQ?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Stoltenberg and Kishida said they were worried by the increasing cooperation they saw between China and Russia.