On the occasion of an upcoming visit to Japan, NATO Secretary-General Rutt said in an interview with the media that NATO and Japan plan to take the partnership between the two sides to a new level by strengthening information sharing and defense industry cooperation.

NATO urgently needs to find a sense of presence in other regions when it is disgraceful in Europe.

NATO urgently needs to find a sense of presence in other regions when it is disgraceful in Europe.

According to Kyodo News on the 6th, Rutt plans to visit Japan from the 8th to the 10th of this month. This trip will be his first visit to the Indo-Pacific region since he served as NATO secretary-general in October last year. On the 4th, Rutt said in a media group interview that he would "substantiate" the cooperation between NATO and his partners. He mentioned expanding ties with Japan and with Australia, New Zealand and South Korea to cooperate in areas such as industrial production, innovation and data exchange on issues of common concern.

In response to a question from a Japanese NHK TV reporter, "Whether NATO agrees that China is a threat, no longer a challenge," Rutt said: "You (reporter) may increasingly regard China as a threat, but I think it is not expressed in NATO's official language." Then, he changed the subject and said that he could not be "too naive" to China. "When you see the construction of China's defense industrial base, when you see that they now have more naval ships than the United States... it's obvious that we can't have naive ideas about China." Rutt said, "That's why we work so closely with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand."

Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Institute of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said in an interview with the Global Times on the 6th that NATO has tried to strengthen defense cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, and plans to set up a liaison office in Japan, but due to differences between member states, it has not been achieved. "Rutter's latest statement shows that NATO has not given up its intention to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific region."

During his visit to Japan, Rutt will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Defense Minister Moto Nakatani, Foreign Minister Tsushi Iwaya and Economic and Industry Minister Ryoji Muto. The Japan Times said that Rutte said that one of the main purposes of the relevant meetings is to better understand the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, especially the security challenges facing Japan. Rutt is also expected to visit Yokosuka Naval Base and the Mitsubishi Electric Kamakura plant in Kanagawa Prefecture. The report said that these two places highlight NATO's emphasis on promoting industrial cooperation between the two sides and will deepen Rutt's understanding of the capabilities of the Japanese Self-Defense Force.

Regarding the visit of NATO Secretary-General to Japan to discuss defense cooperation, Japanese media interpreted that NATO's growing concerns about China's military capabilities, tough attitude on regional issues and close relations between Beijing and Moscow are one of the reasons that drives NATO to strengthen cooperation with Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Cui Hongjian believes that NATO has shown some concern about China's military strength in recent years, but most European countries do not regard China as a direct security threat. However, when Rutt contacted countries in the Asia-Pacific region, he obviously tried to cater to the so-called "worries" of these countries, and the logic was to maintain his own sense of existence and reasons for development by creating a tension. Rutt's remarks are also to please the United States, trying to prove its irreplaceableness in the US global strategy by shaping itself into a tool to contain China, in order to prove the value and role of NATO.

The reporter noticed that some Japanese media reported that when Rutt answered questions from Japanese media, they omitted the second half and deliberately highlighted the "China threat". Chen Yang, a visiting researcher at the Center for Japan Studies at Liaoning University, told the Global Times reporter on the 6th that the Japanese media obviously intend to exaggerate China as the main issue of Rutte's visit to Japan. This aspect is to highlight Japan's importance in international affairs. On the other hand, some people in Japan believe that by exaggerating that "NATO strengthens cooperation with Japan to fight China", they can hide under the guise of dealing with the "China threat", develop their own strength, and divert the international community's attention to its ambitions.

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[Editor in charge: Liu Chang PN012]