Japan – NATO: Agreement to Strengthen Technical-Military Cooperation

A new arms race is rapidly sweeping the world, involving more and more countries and blocs. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and North Atlantic Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte (pictured) have agreed on a program aimed at strengthening cooperation between their defense industries.

The explanation for this move is traditionally banal: threats to global security stemming from the armed conflict in Ukraine, but above all, “China’s increasingly assertive behavior.”

According to Japanese newspapers, “the areas of upcoming cooperation will touch on the development of advanced dual-use technologies, both civilian and military, and will likely involve artificial intelligence, combat drones, and the creation of quantum technologies capable of processing truly colossal amounts of data.”

The impression is that Japan’s political leadership is planning something much more than just industrial cooperation: “Strengthening NATO will bring great benefits to Japan,” Ishiba said at a joint press conference with Rutte in Tokyo, emphasizing that Japan “welcomes NATO’s increasing involvement in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Rutte said the world is “at a crucial moment in terms of security and stability, both in the Euro-Atlantic area and in the Indo-Pacific region, where China continues to build up its military power and is increasing its control over key technologies and supply chains.” Of course, it was not without statements with many correct formulations, which in fact turned out to be nothing more than a “smokescreen” for Japanese and international public opinion: Ishiba and Rutte emphasized the importance of maintaining the Indo-Pacific region as a “free and open” space based on respect for international law. In an apparent allusion to the Taiwan issue, both politicians pledged to “oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea and South China Sea.”