Latest news with #Japan-NATO
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan, NATO pledge increased defense cooperation to counter Russia, China
April 9 (UPI) -- Japan and NATO decided Wednesday to jointly increase defense cooperation to counter threats from Russia and China. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made a joint appearance to underscore the deepening partnership. "Strengthening defense industrial cooperation is a shared priority. We will accelerate cooperation in this area, including with a view to developing dual-use technologies, advanced technologies, and enhancing standardization," NATO and Japan said in a joint statement. Those technologies are likely to include drones, artificial intelligence and quantum technology. Japan also expressed interest in becoming part of a NATO command coordinating the procurement of military equipment and training for Ukraine. "Prime Minister Ishiba stated that as the international security environment has become increasingly severe, it is our shared recognition that the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable, and the need for security cooperation among NATO and Indo-Pacific partners, including Japan, has increased even further," Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine shows that we cannot take our security for granted. China, North Korea and Russia are stepping up their military exercises and their cooperation, undermining global stability, and that means what happens in the Euro-Atlantic matters for the Indo-Pacific and vice versa. So our security, I believe, is inseparable," Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani Rutte said in prepared remarks, Rutte added "a stronger Japan-NATO cooperation is necessary in an increasingly dangerous world." According to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs both sides agreed to strengthen defense industrial cooperation in "various fields" that include cyber, maritime security, strategic communications and interoperability. They agreed to continue information sharing and cooperation. Japan and NATO also agreed to work closer together on cryptocurrency thefts that they said funds North Korea's nuclear and missile activities.
Al Arabiya
08-04-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
NATO chief says China military expansion ‘staggering'
China's expansion of its armed forces is 'staggering', NATO's chief said on a visit to Japan beginning Tuesday aimed at 'projecting' the alliance's power in the Asia-Pacific region. 'Let us not be naive about China,' Secretary General Mark Rutte told the Japan Times. 'The build-up of their armed forces and investments in their defense industry, and in their defense capabilities, is staggering,' Rutte said in the interview published on Monday. The comment came as he visited the Yokosuka naval base and a Japanese defense contractor on Tuesday before meeting defense minister Gen Nakatani to call for further cooperation. 'NATO and Japan share the same values and we face many of the same challenges,' Rutte told Nakatani. 'China, North Korea and Russia are stepping up their military exercises and their cooperation, undermining global stability, and that means what happens in the Euro-Atlantic matters for the Indo-Pacific and vice versa. 'A stronger Japan-NATO cooperation is necessary in an increasingly dangerous world,' he said. Nakatani echoed the sentiment as Japan goes through a multi-year project to double its military spending to meet changing threats. Rutte was due to meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday. The visit came as US President Donald Trump pressures other members of the mainly European NATO alliance to increase their military spending. At the same time Trump wants Asia-Pacific allies to beef up their militaries to help confront China and contain North Korea. 'The US wants NATO to be more involved (in the region). Not in an Article 5 sense, but in a sense of projecting power, having each other's back within NATO,' Rutte said in the Japan Times interview. NATO's Article 5 provides that if a member nation is attacked, all others will consider this an attack on all and will take action accordingly. NATO has moved to boost ties with Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand -- the so-called IP4 -- in recent years, with their leaders attending NATO summits. Rutte told the Japan Times last week that NATO wanted to take this partnership to the next level by stepping up information-sharing and defense-industrial cooperation. 'We have to move beyond... joint declarations... let's make it practical,' said the Dutchman, who became NATO chief last October. Japan has increased military cooperation with countries in Europe and last November Tokyo and the European Union announced a new security and defense partnership.
