A dangerous trend

Japan's deeper collusion with NATO poses a major threat to regional, even global, peace and stability

Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, Japan and NATO have conducted frequent interactions and deeper collusion, which is reflected in the following three areas.

To start with, there's a tendency of regular and institutionalized high-level exchanges between Japan and NATO.Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi attended the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in April 2022 and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attended the NATO Summit in June that year. These were the first time that the country's foreign minister and prime minister had been invited to attend the military alliance's high-level meetings. In January, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Japan and held talks with Kishida, and Kishida plans to attend the NATO Summit in Lithuania in July.

Second, the Japan Self-Defense Forces have participated in a military exercise of NATO. Dubbed "the largest deployment exercise of air forces in NATO's history", the Air Defender 23 exercise took place in June. Apart from Sweden, which is applying for a NATO membership, Japan was the only non-NATO country to take part in the exercise.

Third, when meeting with the media, Japan's Foreign Minister Hayashi and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg confirmed that the two sides are holding talks on opening a liaison office in Tokyo, the first of its kind in Asia. Once opened, the liaison office will promote closer cooperation between Japan and NATO purportedly in fields such as cyberspace, emerging technologies and fighting disinformation.

Japan's interactions with NATO date back to the 1980s when the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed. Back then, NATO was mainly focused on intra-European issues and paid limited attention to Asia; therefore, Japan and NATO had little interaction.

Following the Sept 11 attacks in 2001, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force provided supplies to the US military force in the Indian Ocean and logistical support to the United States for the war in Afghanistan. Since then, Japan and NATO have forged increasingly stronger ties. Japan became NATO's global partner in 2008. The Agreement between the Government of Japan and NATO on the Security of Information and Material was signed in 2010. And Japan and NATO signed the Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme in 2014, marking the establishment of a political cooperation mechanism between the two sides. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, bilateral cooperation has become increasingly institutionalized.

By enhancing cooperation with NATO countries, Japan has three goals to achieve.

First, it attempts to break the constraints of the exclusively defense-oriented policy imposed by its pacifist Constitution by "borrowing a ship to sail" — allowing the Japan Self-Defense Forces to operate overseas under the pretext of "collective self-defense" for allies such as the US and European countries.

Since the International Peace Support Bill was passed in 2015, Japan has not only started sending troops overseas through the Japan-US alliance, but also expanded the Self-Defense Forces' global footprint under the pretext of "defending Japan's overseas interests" — such as through closer interactions with NATO members to strengthen military and security cooperation. By taking part in the NATO air exercise in June 2023, Japan attempted to flex its military muscle and increase the frequency and scale of Japan Self-Defense Forces' overseas operations, laying a foundation for achieving its ultimate goal of amending its Constitution.

Second, Japan attempts to use NATO to further consolidate its leading position in the US' alliance system.

Apart from Japan, NATO's partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region include the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The ROK joined the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in 2022, becoming the cyber defense group's first Asian member. But once a liaison office is set up in Japan, it will become a communication hub to coordinate policies and share intelligence in the "Indo-Pacific" region. Japan can gain a more advantageous position in the US' alliance system in the Asia-Pacific region, and woo NATO to more deeply engage in "Indo-Pacific "affairs and even global affairs.

Third, Japan strives to become a major political and military power under the pretext of "leading the way in defending the international order".

From Japan's perspective, the current global situation is undergoing profound changes, wherein the national strengths of China and India are increasing and the US' national strength is declining. In December 2022, Tokyo published a new National Security Strategy, which pledges to strengthen and modernize the Japan-US alliance, increase Japan's "defense capabilities" and "lead the way in undertaking efforts to reinforce the international order with steadfast resolve".

Japan not only advocates the so-called free and open Indo-Pacific, but also attempts to beef up interactions with NATO members by strengthening its own defense capabilities and the Japan-US alliance, so as to include NATO members such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy in the US' "Indo-Pacific Strategy". This is in line with the Joe Biden administration's "Indo-Pacific Strategy" unveiled in February 2022, which pledges to "build bridges between the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic".

Japan's deeper collusion with NATO is essentially meant to create division and stoke confrontation in the international community, which will undoubtedly threaten peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the international community.

The Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing and most vibrant region in the world. To promote cooperation and seek development is the common aspiration of all countries in the region, as it's in line with their interests and the common interests of the entire region. Upholding the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China has always been resolutely defending regional peace and security, advocating a peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue, and sharing development opportunities with all regional countries.

NATO, a product of the Cold War that should have been dissolved long ago, has been constantly expanding eastward and extending its tentacles to regions outside the North Atlantic. Wherever it goes, there will be war. Stronger ties between Japan and NATO will undoubtedly destabilize and threaten peace and security in East Asia.

NATO advancing to the Asia-Pacific region has aroused controversies within the military bloc. French President Emmanuel Macron voiced his objections to NATO's plans to establish an office in Japan, saying that NATO statutes clearly limits the scope to the North Atlantic. Japan should listen to such voice of reason and focus on the intractable crises it's currently facing — such as its decreasing birth rate, aging population and natural disasters — rather than on colluding with Europe and the US to suppress China and getting lost in the illusion of defending the so-called international order in the region. Focusing on its domestic problems is much more important than hyping up the so-called China threat theory, stoking bloc confrontation and destroying regional peace and stability.

Zhang Mei is an associate research fellow with the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Lyu Yaodong is deputy director-general of and a research fellow with the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.