VILNIUS: NATO leaders sent mixed signals at their summit on Wednesday (Jul 12) on a possible plan to open an office in Japan, which has been blocked by France and criticised by China.
Asked about the plan at a press conference at the end of the summit in Vilnius, French President Emmanuel Macron said NATO should keep its focus firmly on the North Atlantic region.
But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the idea of a liaison office in Tokyo was still up for discussion.
Alarmed by China’s growing military power, the United States has pushed for the transatlantic alliance to share expertise and build ties with Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
NATO officials have said the proposed Japan office would be small, with a staff of only a few people focused on building partnerships, and would not be a military base.
Macron said he agreed that NATO should have partners with other regions “with whom we manage major security issues in the Indo-Pacific, Africa and also the Middle East”.
“But – and perhaps I’m a little bit simplistic – but it remains an organization of the North Atlantic Treaty,” Macron said, referring to NATO’s founding document.
“Whatever one says, geography is stubborn: the Indo-Pacific isn’t the North Atlantic,” Macron added.
“I think we made the right decision to stick to a close partnership, coordination and strategic intimacy but not wanting to expand the areas of conflict because it’s not the right time and it’s not why we’re here.”
Source: CNA
