China, Russia growing stronger in military cooperation; here’s why Japan is concerned
Japan has been supporting Ukraine in the war, but China says it remains neutral and blames the US and NATO for provoking the conflict.
PremiumJapanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi has expressed concern about the military cooperation between Russia and China in Asia and its potential impact on the Indo-Pacific region. Speaking at a meeting of European and Indo-Pacific foreign ministers in Sweden, Hayashi said that the security situation in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region cannot be separated since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Hayashi stated that Russia's war in Ukraine had “shaken the very foundation of the international order" and must face a united response from the international community. He warned that similar challenges could arise in other regions and fundamentally overturn the existing order that has underpinned peace and prosperity.
Japan has been supporting Ukraine in the war, but China says it remains neutral and blames the US and NATO for provoking the conflict. China has a “no limits" relationship with Moscow and, together, they are strengthening their military collaboration, including joint flights of their bombers and joint naval exercises in the vicinity of Japan, Hayashi noted.
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He also accused China of “continuing and intensifying its unilateral attempts" to change the status quo in the East and South China seas by force and increasing its military activities around Taiwan.
Furthermore, Hayashi warned that North Korea was “escalating provocations" in the region by conducting ballistic missile launches “with a frequency and in a manner that are unprecedented".
Hayashi joined dozens of ministers from the European Union and the Indo-Pacific region for the meeting just north of the Swedish capital. China was not invited to the talks.
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“Since the aggression of Russia to Ukraine, the security situation here in Europe and the security situation in the Pacific are not separable," Hayashi stated upon his arrival.
Some of the Indo-Pacific countries, including India and Pakistan, have called for an end to the Ukraine war but stopped short of condemning Russia for it.
(With agency inputs)
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