Japan, NATO defense chiefs agree to ramp up cooperation

The defense ministers of Japan and three other Indo-Pacific countries agreed at their first meeting with their NATO counterparts on Thursday in Brussels to boost cooperation, amid China's growing military assertiveness and Russia's protracted invasion of Ukraine.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani called on the NATO ministers and his counterparts from Australia, New Zealand and South Korea to expand coordinated efforts against unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.

"The war in Ukraine has shown that instability in Europe can have far reaching consequences across the world, and that countries thousands of miles away -- as far away as Iran, China and even North Korea -- can become security spoilers in our own backyard," said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

"Our world is closely linked -- and so is our security," Rutte added.

The ministers also discussed how to work together to support Ukraine, boost cyber defenses, defense production and innovation as well as counter disinformation and harness new technologies including artificial intelligence, according to NATO.

Earlier in the day, Nakatani held talks with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and vowed that Japan will provide additional Self-Defense Forces vehicles to Kyiv in support of its efforts to repel Russia's full-scale invasion that began in 2022.

Japan sent 101 trucks and other SDF vehicles to Ukraine between May 2023 and March 2024.

NATO has invited leaders from Asian and Oceanian countries to its summits since 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in Belgium to pitch his victory plan and urge European leaders to issue an immediate invitation to join NATO, said at a press conference in Brussels that he was grateful for Japan's support.

Japan fears that what happened in Ukraine could also occur in East Asia, with Taiwan facing an increased military threat from China, which earlier in the week conducted large-scale military drills around the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as part of its territory.

On Ukraine's aspiration to join NATO, Rutte told a separate press conference before the meeting with the Indo-Pacific defense ministers that while the timing remains uncertain, Ukraine will become a member of the alliance in the future.

Nakatani also discussed cooperation among the four Indo-Pacific countries in separate talks with the defense ministers from Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.

After the meeting of NATO and Indo-Pacific ministers, Nakatani is scheduled to attend the first-ever defense ministerial gathering of the Group of Seven countries later this week in Italy.