Focused Promotion in 15 Areas Over 4 Years
Agreed at NATO Summit on 11-12
Strong Backlash Against NATO's Role in Containing China
On the 9th, local media reported that the Japanese government is revising a document serving as a cooperation guideline with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to strengthen collaboration in areas such as misinformation and space cyber countermeasures.
According to the report, Japan and NATO plan to upgrade the existing cooperation document, the "Individual Partnership Cooperation Program (IPCP)," to the "Individual Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP)."
The ITPP, which will specify about 15 key areas to be focused on over four years, is expected to include content aimed at strengthening security cooperation targeting Russia and China.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is reported to agree on revising the cooperation document during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO summit scheduled for June 11-12.
However, there are concerns within NATO about expanding and strengthening NATO's presence in the Asia-Pacific region, fearing it could provoke China.
The US Wall Street Journal (WSJ) cited diplomatic sources the previous day, reporting that "some NATO member countries are wary of a reduced focus on Russia or escalating tensions with China."
While concerns about China are widespread among NATO members, there is hesitation to expand NATO's role to include deterrence against China amid the depletion of military resources due to the war in Ukraine.
France, in particular, has voiced the strongest opposition. French President Emmanuel Macron warned at a security conference in May that expanding NATO's geographic scope to the Asia-Pacific would be a "big mistake," and opposed the plan to establish a NATO liaison office in Tokyo. The argument was that setting up a liaison office in Asia would distance NATO from its main region, the North Atlantic.
China also strongly opposed the plan to establish the Tokyo liaison office, claiming it was evidence of NATO trying to hinder its development. This ultimately led to the plan being put on hold.
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