Stoltenberg and Kishida said they were worried by the increasing cooperation they saw between China and Russia
\n TOKYO
\nJapan and NATO must \u201cremain united and firm\u201d in the face of security threats posed by China, North Korea and Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday in Tokyo.
\nStoltenberg, secretary general of the European and North American military alliance, warned that Beijing was keeping a close eye on developments in Ukraine and \u201clearning lessons that may influence its future decisions\u201d.
\nHe spoke alongside Japan\u2019s 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.
\n\u201cWhat is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow. So we must remain united and firm, standing together for freedom and democracy,\u201d he said.
\nStoltenberg and Kishida said they were worried by the increasing cooperation they saw between China and Russia.
\n\u201cWe highlight with concern Russia\u2019s growing military cooperation with China, including through joint operations and drills in the vicinity of Japan,\u201d they said in a joint statement.
\nThe previous day in Seoul, Stoltenberg asked South Korea to step up military support for Ukraine, which was invaded by its neighbour Russia nearly a year ago.
\nBut on Tuesday, he praised the \u201cstrong position\u201d and \u201csubstantial support\u201d offered to Ukraine by Japan.
\nTokyo 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.
\nStoltenberg said he and Kishida also shared concern over North Korea\u2019s \u201cprovovative behaviour\u201d, from nuclear activity to ballistic missile tests.
\nHe said China was \u201cnot our adversary\u201d but warned of its growing military presence in Asia \u201cincluding nuclear weapons, bullying neighbours and threatening Taiwan\u201d, as well as spreading disinformation about NATO and Ukraine.
\nKishida said Japan would establish an independent representative office for its dealings with NATO as part of efforts to deepen ties.
\nThe country will also consider regular participation in high-level meetings held by the alliance, Kishida added.
\nIn December, Japan announced its largest shake-up to its defence and security strategy in decades.
\nThe new strategy includes plans to raise defence spending to two per cent of GDP by fiscal 2027, bringing Japan in line with NATO member guidelines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Stoltenberg and Kishida said they were worried by the increasing cooperation they saw between China and Russia TOKYO Japan and NATO must \u201cremain united and firm\u201d in the face of security threats posed by China, North Korea and Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday in Tokyo. Stoltenberg, secretary general of the European […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-310970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n