dpa
Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pledged on Tuesday to further deepen their cooperation, in light of China’s growing ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.
“China is substantially building up its military forces, including nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbours, and threatening Taiwan,” Stoltenberg said following talks with Kishida in Tokyo.
Beijing is closely watching the Western response to Russia’s war in Ukraine and “learning lessons that may influence its future decisions,” Stoltenberg warned.
China is “trying to control critical infrastructure and spreading disinformation about NATO and the war in Ukraine,” he said.
“What is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow,” the NATO chief added. “China is not our adversary, but we must understand the scale of the challenge and work together to address it.”
Stoltenberg and Kishida both expressed concern at Russia’s growing military cooperation with China, in a joint statement issued after their talks.
“We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea,” the statement read, calling peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait an “indispensable element” in international security.
“No NATO partner is closer or more capable than Japan,” Stoltenberg said at the start of the press conference.
“The world is at a historical inflection point in the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II,” the leaders said in their statement.
“Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has shattered peace and shaken the foundation of the rules-based international order. It has gravely altered the security environment in the Euro-Atlantic and beyond,” it added.
“The balance of power is also rapidly shifting in the Indo-Pacific,” the statement noted.
“Together we can and will do more to address shared challenges, including Russian aggression and China’s coercive behaviour,” Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter.
