NATO closes ranks with Tokyo and Seoul against China and Russia

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today pledged to strengthen ties with Tokyo after having done the same the day before seoulfaced with the “challenge” posed by the military rise China and his approach to Russia.

This is the Asian tour of the person in charge of NATO It aims to strengthen cooperation between the alliance and major U.S. partners in a region considered a “historic crossroads” and “the most serious and challenging security environment since the end of World War II.”

That is how Stoltenberg and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida defined the current scenario in a joint statement following their meeting today in Tokyoand where they also warned of “growing military cooperation” between Beijing and Moscow and Pyongyang’s weapons developments.

Stoltenberg’s trip coincided with a trip to South Korea by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who in turn reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to “extended deterrence” with its allies in the face of persistent North Korean testing that has stoked tensions on the peninsula.

China as a common challenge

Both Japan and the Atlantic Alliance view China as a “challenge” of ever-increasing proportions due to its “increase in its forces and military capabilities, including nuclear weapons, intimidation of neighboring countries and its threats to Taiwan,” the official said. NATO.

Beijing is also “spreading disinformation about NATO and the war in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said, adding that despite this, “China is not our adversary” during his speech to the media.

“We need to understand the scale of the problem and work together to resolve it as soon as possible,” he said.

A possible Russian victory in Ukraine “will send a signal that all authoritarian regimes can achieve their goals,” which “would be dangerous” as “Beijing is learning lessons that could influence its future actions,” Stoltenberg warned.

Today’s joint statement denounces frequent joint Sino-Russian naval maneuvers around the Japanese archipelago, rejects Moscow’s nuclear threat rhetoric as “irresponsible” and both sides’ pledge to continue supporting Ukraine.

During your stay in seoul The day before, Secretary General NATO urged South Korea to “continue and build up” military support for Kyiv, which was interpreted as a call for the country to send weapons to Ukraine.

Both South Korea and Japan sent non-lethal medical and military equipment due to restrictions in their national laws on arms exports, both governments said.

Kishida and Stoltenberg also expressed their desire to take “another step” in this cooperation through Japan’s frequent participation in meetings and summits. NATO, after Kishida attended last year’s meeting of alliance leaders in Madrid as an observer, as did South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

According to a joint statement, Japan and NATO are also looking to expand cooperation in areas such as maritime security, arms control, cyberspace and disinformation.

Containment of Pyongyang

Stoltenberg’s Asian tour also served to focus on deliveries of rockets and missiles that NATO and the US say North Korea has supplied to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine, as well as to send a warning against arms advances. hermetic mode.

General Secretary NATO He described these alleged North Korean shipments to Russia as “worrisome” and emphasized the importance of “extended deterrence” – that is, the US commitment to use all of its weapons, including nuclear if necessary, to protect its allies – in order to prevent further proliferation of nuclear weapons in region.

North Korea has repeatedly denied supplying arms to Moscow and filed charges on Monday over a visit by a person in charge NATO to a neighboring country, calling it “a prelude to confrontation and war.”

The US Defense Secretary, for his part, pledged today, along with his South Korean counterpart, to expand expanded commitments to contain Pyongyang through “close communications, deployment of strategic assets, and triangular cooperation with Japan.”

The regime led by Kim Jong-un conducted a record number of missile tests last year and, according to Washington and Seoul, is ready at any moment to conduct a new nuclear test, which will be the seventh to date. (EFE)