Global Courant
ISTANBUL
China on Tuesday urged Japan to refrain from actions that could harm the peace and stability of the region in connection with NATO’s proposal to open an office in Tokyo.
“Japan must make the right decision in the interests of the stability and development of the region,” spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing, according to a transcript of a press conference shared by China’s Foreign Ministry. “Asia is beyond the geographic scope of the North Atlantic and NATO does not need a copy.”
He stressed that the majority of countries are against “the emergence of military blocs” in the region. “They don’t welcome NATO reaching out to Asia. They don’t want a copy of the bloc conflict,” he said.
His comments followed reports last month that claimed NATO would open its first one-man liaison office in Tokyo.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg welcomed Japan’s decision last month to open a “dedicated diplomatic mission” to the military alliance.
“We welcome your (Tokyo) decision to open a special diplomatic mission to NATO,” he said at a press conference in Brussels. said.
While the head of NATO advocated strengthening ties with the Asia-Pacific region, China has rebuffed such attempts.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also opposed NATO’s plans to open offices in Japan, which will add to the NATO-China tension.
“We would be making a huge mistake if we were to force NATO to broaden the spectrum and geography,” Macron said at a conference last week, according to the Financial Times.
“There are various considerations within NATO. At this point, I will refrain from making any biased comments,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Tuesday.
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