When Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand took part in the NATO summit in Washington in July, the so-called Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) nations demonstrated the close connection of the Indo-Pacific and Europe on security as they exchanged views on the global security environment and ways to bolster support for Ukraine.

The driving force behind this strengthened cooperation is the widely shared recognition that “the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable,” as then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated at the meeting.

Yet some in Washington’s defense community criticize that Europe and the Indo-Pacific are entirely different regions, and should therefore focus on their own matters.