NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg delivers a speech as he visits Iruma Air Base, a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force base in Sayama. Photo- AFP
Tokyo: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg who arrived in Japan as part of his East Asia tour called for stronger ties with Japan as Russia’s war on Ukraine raises global dangers and shows that democracies need stronger partnerships.
However, concerned over the growing military footprint of the US ally Japan, China and North Korea urged ‘high vigilance’ and warned of a ‘Cold War’ in reacting to the NATO chief’s trip to Asia.
Stoltenberg on Monday asked South Korea to reconsider its rule on not exporting weapons to countries in conflict so it could help arm Ukraine in countering Russia’s invasion. Stoltenberg is in Seoul, the first stop on a trip that will include Japan.
Japan was the first country to join the U.S.-led economic sanctions against Russia’s war on Ukraine and provided humanitarian aid and non-combative defense equipment for the Ukrainians.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has sounded alarm that Russia’s aggression in Europe could happen in Asia, where concerns are growing over already assertive China and its escalating tension near Taiwan. Japan also has significantly stepped-up ties with NATO recently.
North Korea condemned his visits to South Korea and Japan, saying that NATO was trying to put its “military boots in the region” and attempting to pressure America’s Asian allies into providing weapons to Ukraine.
Speaking at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul, Stoltenberg thanked South Korea for its non-lethal aid to Ukraine, but urged it to do more.
While in South Korea on Monday, Stoltenberg called for South Korea to provide direct military support to Ukraine to help Kyiv to fight off the prolonged Russian invasion. So far, Seoul has only provided humanitarian aid and other support, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons 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 dissuading North Korea from its growing nuclear ambitions following an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests in 2022, Yoon’s office said.
Stoltenberg on Sunday mentioned U.S. intelligence reports accusing North Korea of providing weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.
In a statement released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, North Korea criticized increasing cooperation between NATO and U.S. allies in Asia as a process to create an “Asian version of NATO” that would raise tensions in the region.
With input from agencies