NATO chief wants to build closer ties with Japan ‘to defend democracy’

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who is currently visiting Japan as part of his East Asia tour, has called for stronger ties with the country, saying “our security is closely linked”.

Japan has quickly joined US-led economic sanctions against Russia’s war against Ukraine, providing humanitarian aid and non-combatant defense equipment to Ukrainians.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed concern that Russia’s aggression in Europe could take place in Asia, where concerns are growing over an already assertive China and escalating tensions near Taiwan.

Japan has also recently significantly intensified its ties with NATO.

“The war in Ukraine also shows that our security is closely linked,” Stoltenberg said during his visit to the Iruma Air Base north of Tokyo, where he began his visit to Japan on Tuesday after arriving in South Korea late Monday. .

“If President Putin wins in Ukraine, it will be a tragedy for Ukrainians, but it will also send a very dangerous message to authoritarian leaders around the world, because then the message will be that they can achieve their goals if they use military force. to use. ” he said.

“So the war in Ukraine is important to all of us.”

Stoltenberg said his visit to Japan “is a way to further strengthen the partnership between NATO and our valued partner Japan.”

He will meet with Kishida and hold a joint press conference later Tuesday.

Japan, already a close ally of the United States, has in recent years expanded its military ties with other Indo-Pacific countries as well as Britain, Europe and NATO amid a growing security threat from China and North Korea.

Japan issued a new national security strategy in December in which it is committed to building up its military and deploying long-range missiles to stave off enemy attacks.

Japan also hopes to further ease restrictions on arms exports to bolster the country’s defense industry.

While in South Korea on Monday, Stoltenberg called on Seoul to provide direct military support to Ukraine to help Kiev repel the protracted Russian invasion.

So far, Seoul has only provided humanitarian aid and other support, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying arms to countries in conflict.

Stoltenberg also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday and discussed Seoul’s commitment to support Ukraine and NATO’s possible role in discouraging North Korea from its growing nuclear ambitions following an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests. missiles in 2022, Yoon’s office said.

Stoltenberg on Sunday reported US intelligence reports accusing North Korea of ​​supplying arms to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.

North Korea condemned its visits to South Korea and Japan, saying NATO was trying to put its “military boots in the region” and pressure America’s Asian allies to supply weapons to Ukraine.

In a statement released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, North Korea criticized increasing cooperation between NATO and US allies in Asia as a process to create an “Asian version of NATO” that would ease tensions in the region. would increase.