Japan and NATO plan to take their partnership to the next level by stepping up information-sharing and defense-industrial cooperation, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told The Japan Times, as the 32-member military alliance views “more practical" cooperation with Tokyo and other Indo-Pacific partners as key to addressing global security challenges.
“We need to have more flesh on the bones,” Rutte said in an exclusive interview Friday, pointing out that the alliance aims to expand ties not only with Japan but also Australia, New Zealand and South Korea — commonly known as the Indo-Pacific four (IP4) — to enable greater collaboration in areas such as industrial production, innovation and data exchanges on matters of mutual concern.
“We have to move beyond ... joint declarations ... let’s make it practical,” the NATO chief said ahead of a planned trip to Japan next Tuesday and Wednesday. The trip will be Rutte’s first to the region since taking office in October, as he seeks to implement lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.