Japan's collusion with NATO undermines regional peace and stability, disregarding opposition to participating in military exercises | NATO | Region

Starting from 10:00 am local time on the 12th in Germany, which is 16:00 Beijing time, the NATO "Air Guard 2023" military exercise will be held, and the exercise will continue until the 23rd. Sweden and Japan, as non NATO member countries, are also involved.

A total of 250 aircraft and helicopters from 25 countries, as well as over 10000 soldiers, participated in this military exercise. Among them, the United States alone sent over 100 aircraft to participate in the exercise, including F35, F16 fighter jets, and MQ-9 Reaper drones.

German Air Force Commander Gerhard previously stated that this military exercise mainly assumes simulated defense in the event of an attack on key infrastructure along the northern German port of Rostock and the Baltic Sea coast. The exercise location is mainly in Germany, but it also involves NATO Eastern Wing countries such as Estonia and Latvia.

This NATO military exercise has caused strong dissatisfaction among the German public. On the 11th, hundreds of German citizens held a demonstration in Pfaltzheim, Brandenburg, protesting against NATO military exercises and calling for an end to all actions that escalate tensions. On the 10th, about 300 people gathered in front of the Vinstov Air Force Base, one of the military exercise venues, to protest, stating that the exercise sent the wrong signal to the outside world, which may further escalate the conflict in Ukraine.

The German Air Traffic Control Staff Union stated that military exercises will have a significant impact on civil aviation operations, resulting in a cumulative delay of 50000 minutes per day.

Dietmar Balch, a left-wing member of the German Federal Parliament, criticized the NATO military exercise as a serious provocation and called on Europe to issue a peace initiative instead of releasing new signals of confrontation.

NATO's hand is getting longer and longer, interacting frequently with Japan

The full name of NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the Asia Pacific region is not within the geographical scope of the North Atlantic. However, in recent years, NATO has continuously strengthened its relations with Asia Pacific countries and its ambitions to infiltrate the region have been exposed. Since 2014, Japan and NATO countries have frequently interacted and conducted military joint training.

Japan has sent self-defense personnel multiple times to participate in NATO military exercises

In 2014, Japan and NATO signed the so-called Japan NATO Country Partnership Plan, and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and NATO held their first joint exercise in the Gulf of Aden.

In 2018, the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force participated in NATO military exercises in the Baltic Sea.

In 2019, the US, Japan, and Australia air forces held their first "agile combat" exercise, which tested how to quickly deploy air forces at frontline makeshift airports. Since then, the Japanese Self Defense Force has participated in several "agile combat" exercises led by the US military, actively cooperating with the US military to adjust military and military deployments according to the "agile combat deployment".

In 2022, Japan dispatched self-defense personnel to participate in the NATO "Noble Partners" joint military exercise held in Georgia.

NATO and Japan began planning to establish liaison offices with each other many years ago

In addition to military cooperation, NATO also plans to establish a liaison office in Tokyo, Japan in the next year, expanding its sphere of influence beyond the North Atlantic. And this plan has a long history.

In 2007, then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese government head to visit NATO headquarters in Brussels, proposing for the first time the establishment of liaison offices with NATO. In 2018, the Japan Liaison Office to NATO was established in Brussels. Last year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida became the first Japanese Prime Minister to attend a NATO summit and will participate in the NATO summit to be held in Lithuania in July this year.

In January of this year, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg made a high-profile visit to Japan and reached a consensus with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on "strengthening mutual relations", and discussed the establishment of a NATO liaison office in Japan. In May this year, Nikkei Asia published an exclusive news article, citing sources from Japanese and NATO officials, stating that the NATO Liaison Office in Japan will be officially established in 2024.

A netizen sarcastically said, "When did Asia start to be located in the North Atlantic? I suggest assigning more geography homework to American students, which may solve NATO's problems in the long run." Another netizen criticized, "The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is now a North Atlantic terrorist organization and should stay well in their own backyard."

Observation by CCTV reporters | Japan's defense actions continue to provoke criticism from various sectors in Japan

Japan is not a member of NATO, but it has traveled thousands of miles to participate in the exercise. Previously, Japan had discussions with NATO regarding the establishment of a liaison office in Tokyo. This series of actions has sparked widespread questioning and criticism within Japan.

CCTV reporter He Xinlei: Recently, the Japanese government has been making small moves in defense affairs. Not only has it passed the Defense Finance Special Measures Act in the House of Representatives to ensure a significant increase in defense spending, but it has also continuously strengthened contacts with military alliances such as NATO. Previously, the Japanese side recently confirmed that the Japanese government is in discussions with NATO regarding the establishment of the first NATO liaison office in Asia in Japan. Recently, French President Macron stated at a forum that NATO should not expand its sphere of influence beyond the North Atlantic, showing opposition. The NATO discussion plan to establish the first NATO liaison office in Asia in Japan has not only been questioned internationally, but also lacks public opinion in Japan. Some Japanese scholars and intellectuals believe that establishing a NATO liaison office in Japan is contrary to Japan's "peaceful constitution" and goes against the will of the Japanese people.

CCTV reporter He Xinlei: Regarding this, some Japanese netizens commented that Japan does not need any so-called "NATO liaison office"; Some netizens also commented that since Japan has clearly announced its abandonment of war, it cannot mix with NATO and the establishment of a "NATO Liaison Office" is meaningless. In Japanese society, there are many voices that remain vigilant about Japan's military movements. In the vicinity of the Japanese parliament, starting from May, people have spontaneously organized gatherings every week to oppose Japan's military expansion. Most people believe that emphasizing defense too much will only increase the tax burden on the people, drag Japan into the vortex of conflict, and is not conducive to peace and stability in Japan and even the region.

Takashi Fujita, Chairman of the Japan "Inheritance and Development Village Mountain Dialogue": NATO is a military alliance organization. In Article 9 of the Constitution, Japan declared to the world that it would never wage war, but secretly colluded with NATO. This is very bad.

Okamoto Hiroshi, former head of Iwabo Bookstore in Japan, said that this move against the trend of the times will put Japan in crisis.

Expert interpretation: What are the plans for NATO and Japan to strengthen their collusion?

So, what are the plans of NATO and Japan, which are constantly strengthening their "interconnection and interaction"? What unstable factors will it bring to the region and the world?

Teng Jianqun, Director of the Diplomatic Research Center of Hunan Normal University: Japan's deployment of military aircraft to participate in NATO's joint air military exercises in Europe itself demonstrates that the military collusion between NATO and Japan is deepening. Previously, Japan had already joined NATO's cyber warfare security demonstration center, and both sides were discussing whether to establish a NATO liaison office in Japan. In July, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will attend the NATO summit in Vilnius, indicating that NATO and Japan have their own plans for mutual collusion.

NATO attempts to extend its tentacles to the Asia Pacific region

Teng Jianqun, Director of the Diplomatic Research Center of Hunan Normal University: During the Washington Summit on the 50th anniversary of NATO's establishment in 1999, under the leadership of the United States, NATO expanded its defense zone from the territory of its original member countries to various corners of the world, claiming to protect Western democratic values. Afterwards, NATO conducted multiple military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and other places, causing people to struggle and suffering, resulting in social unrest. Afterwards, the United States took NATO with them and left, causing a huge impact on the development and peace of the international community. NATO is now a negative asset for the international community and an important tool for the United States to intervene in foreign military affairs. Therefore, the United States needs to engage in so-called major power strategic competition in the Asia Pacific region. Under the influence of the United States, NATO has extended its tentacles to the Asia Pacific region, which is clearly NATO's plan, but more importantly, it is also the United States' plan.

Japan's introduction of wolves into the house will eventually bear its own fruit

Teng Jianqun, Director of the Diplomatic Research Center of Hunan Normal University: From the perspective of Japan, we have seen clearly that in the current so-called strategic competition among major powers in the Asia Pacific region, we are standing on the side of the United States. We also hope to use the ship of NATO to go out to sea and ensure that Japan can achieve national normalization and military normalization. In this context, Japan has also strengthened its military ties with NATO. Essentially, NATO is a negative asset for international peace and development. If Japan pulls NATO into the Asia Pacific region, it will definitely have a huge impact on regional peace and stability, and Japan will lead the wolf into the house. So for Japan, it is necessary to handle this issue carefully, blindly strengthening its ties with NATO and bringing NATO to the Asia Pacific region. If there is a conflict or crisis in this region, the direct victim will be Japan, not NATO.