China raises alarm
\nStation will allow the military alliance to facilitate consultations with key partners in region
\n Tokyo
\nThe North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) is planning to open a liaison office in Japan, its first in Asia, to conduct consultations with its key allies in the region, the Nikkei Asia reported on Wednesday.
\nThe station will allow the military alliance to facilitate periodic consultations with key partners such as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand as China emerges as a new challenge, alongside its traditional focus on Russia, the report added.
\nCommenting on the report, the Western military alliance spokesperson Oana Lungescu maintained that the alliance would not go into details about Nato allies\u2019 ongoing deliberations.
\n\u201cNato has offices and liaison arrangements with a number of international organisations and partner countries, and allies regularly assess those liaison arrangements to ensure that they best serve the needs of both Nato and our partners,\u201d she was quoted as saying.
\nNato has a close partnership with Japan that continues to grow, she added.
\n\u201cPractical cooperation includes a wide range of areas, including cyber defence, maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, non-proliferation, science and technology, and human security,\u201d she said.
\nThe Nikkei Asia report said the proposed office is due to open next year in Tokyo but details such as whether Japan would provide the space or Nato would fund it were under negotiation.
\nNato has similar liaison offices in New York, Vienna, Ukraine and other places, it said.
\nReacting to the development, China raised alarm Thursday over Nato\u2019s move saying \u201chigh vigilance\u201d is needed amid the Western military alliance \u201ceastward expansion\u201d.
\nDuring the regular press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Asia was a \u201cpromising land for cooperation and development and should not be a battle arena for geopolitics\u201d.
\n\u201cNato\u2019s continual eastward expansion in the Asia-Pacific, interference in regional affairs, attempts to destroy regional peace and stability, and push for bloc confrontation calls for high vigilance from countries in the region,\u201d Mao added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China raises alarm Station will allow the military alliance to facilitate consultations with key partners in region Tokyo The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) is planning to open a liaison office in Japan, its first in Asia, to conduct consultations with its key allies in the region, the Nikkei Asia reported on Wednesday. The station […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-329392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n