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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Amy Hawkins

Nato appears to shelve plans to open Japan liaison office in Tokyo

Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, at Nato summit in Vilnius
Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, at the start of a meeting with Nato’s Indo-Pacific partners during the summit in Vilnius. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty

Nato appears to have shelved plans to open a liaison office in Tokyo, a proposal that had been discussed as part of the western military alliance’s plans to deepen cooperation with partners in the Asia-Pacific but which was strongly opposed by China.

The idea to open an office was first discussed after Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, visited Japan earlier this year. It reportedly involved opening a civilian office in Tokyo in 2024, as a means of facilitating Nato’s dialogues in the Asia-Pacific. It was expected progress would be made at the Nato summit thanks to the attendance of Fumio Kishida, Japan’s prime minister, for the second year in a row.

However, a joint communique published on Tuesday did not mention plans for the office, which would have been the defence alliance’s first in Asia. Nikkei Asia reported that a sentence noting that Nato would continue discussions about the office had survived several rounds of drafting, but was deleted in the last round of talks.

For the second year running, heads of state from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea attended the Nato summit, which is increasingly concerned with the threat of China alongside Russia.

France had openly opposed the plans for a Nato liaison office in Tokyo, concerned it would antagonise Beijing and be interpreted as territorial overreach.

Nato has identified China as a systemic threat to the alliance’s security. In a statement published by members midway through the bloc’s two-day summit in Vilnius, Nato said China’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values” and expressed concern about its “deepening strategic partnership with Russia”.

On Wednesday, the Chinese mission to the EU said that the statement smeared China and was filled with “ideological bias”. The Chinese delegation said it was “deeply concerned” about Nato’s “eastward movement into the Asia-Pacific”.

“Any actions that jeopardise China’s legitimate rights and interests will be met with a resolute response.”

But although the alliance has been taking steps to increase its dialogue with friendly countries in the Asia-Pacific, the joint communique did not mention Taiwan. The prospect of a conflict in the East China Sea, should China attempt to annex the self-governing island by force, is a big security concern for Japan and South Korea.

Stoltenberg has warned repeatedly of the prospect of a conflict between China and Taiwan. According to Reuters, at the Vilnius summit he said: “China is increasingly challenging the rules-based international order, refusing to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine, threatening Taiwan, and carrying out a substantial military buildup.”

But Nato officials also note that Taiwan is not within Nato’s European and North American territorial mandate. And Nato members do not agree on the best way to handle their respective relationships with Beijing. Some, like Hungary, are pushing for closer bilateral ties with China. Others, including France, hope that China’s president, Xi Jinping, can still be leaned on to persuade Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, to reach a settlement in Ukraine.

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