NATO, Japan PM Fumio Kishida pledge to strengthen ties

• Fumio Kishida and NATO promised on Tuesday to improve their relations.
• Claiming Beijing and Moscow are driving “an authoritarian pushback against the international rules-based order.”
• “Transatlantic and Indo-Pacific security is deeply interconnected,” they said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg promised to improve relations on Tuesday.

Claiming Beijing and Moscow are driving “an authoritarian pushback against the international rules-based order.”

“The Indo-Pacific faces growing challenges from China’s coercive behavior to provocations by North Korea. And in Europe, Russia continues to wage its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. This war is not just a European crisis, but a challenge to the world order,” Stoltenberg said in a joint statement with Kishida on Tuesday, adding that he and Kishida agree that “transatlantic and Indo-Pacific security is deeply interconnected.”

“If President Putin wins in Ukraine, this would send a message that authoritarian regimes can achieve their goals through brute force. This is dangerous. Beijing is watching closely and learning lessons that may influence its future decisions,” said Stoltenberg.

During a visit Tuesday to Japan’s Iruma Air Base, Stoltenberg said that “the war in Ukraine matters for all of us, and therefore we’re also very grateful for the support that Japan is providing, also using the planes and the cargo capabilities.”

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