Writing in Politico, Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi comments:
“The security of Europe and that of the Indo-Pacific region can no longer be discussed separately — that was my main message when I attended the NATO ministerial meeting last year for the first time as Japanese foreign minister.”
He notes that in “the Indo-Pacific, unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force are continuing in the East and South China Seas, and military activities around Japan are intensifying. In addition, North Korea is escalating its provocations by launching ballistic missiles with an unprecedented frequency.
In response to what is the most complex and severe security environment since the end of World War II, Japan formulated a new National Security Strategy last December, which clearly states that Japan will fundamentally reinforce its defense capabilities and strengthen cooperation with NATO and other like-minded countries, in order to shore up and defend the free and open international order based on the rule of law.”
OPINION: "The security of Europe and that of the Indo-Pacific region can no longer be discussed separately," writes Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.
"That was my main message when I attended the NATO ministerial meeting last year."https://t.co/XXmDzDcMdN
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) April 10, 2023
Separately, Taiwan has also asked European Countries to help maintain peace peace in the Indo-Pacific region. On a visit to Prague, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu commented that China has ambitions to expand its power in the region and may not limit them to Taiwan, saying:
“I think we need to unite with each other to curb this Chinese ambition, to ensure peace and stability over the Taiwan Strait.”
During the visit, Wu met Czech Senate Speaker Milos Vystrcil, who had angered China by visiting in 2020.
Furthermore, India is moving closer to the US & Europe militarily and economically, according to Asian security expert C. Rajua Mohan. The senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New Delhi recently commented that India’s determination to retain strategic autonomy “does not rule out alliances and partnerships,” as New Delhi has “major power ambitions like the U.S.” and wants to see a multi-polar Asia, rather than a region dominated by a single nation.
He thinks China’s bullying and threats has created “a new template” for India’s relations with the United States and Europe, commenting: “The U.S. needs India too,” as both nations are interested “in producing a better order” for trade, development and security in the Indo-Pacific. He considers the “Quad,” the informal economic and security relationships India has with the United States, Japan and Australia, as an example of India working together with like-minded countries on critical issues.
#China’s #IndoPacific Agression Pushing #India Closer to #US, Say Experts
China’s ongoing aggression and ambitions across the Indo-Pacific has caused India to move closer to the US & Europe militarily and economically, according to Asian security experts.https://t.co/mkR40nzYhF
— Indo-Pacific News – Geo-Politics & Military News (@IndoPac_Info) June 7, 2023