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Recently, NATO has announced its program to open the liaison office in Japan in 2024 for the first time in Asia. In this regard, China is raising its voice of opposition and denunciation.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China underscored that NATO’s intervention in the affairs of the Asia-Pacific region will only result in disturbing regional peace and stability, instigating confrontation between camps, and increasing the vigilance of the countries in the region. He went on to note that Asia should not be turned into a theatre of geopolitical confrontation as it is a high ground for peace and stability.

China Daily said in an editorial that a motley collection of people are instigating NATO to turn the Asia-Pacific region into another theatre of war and pointed out:

The NATO chief visited Tokyo in January and met with the Japanese Prime Minister. They vowed to strengthen ties in the face of “historic” security challenges posed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and China’s “rising military power”.

Furthermore, the US’ strategy was unwittingly revealed by the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, when he told in a recent interview that the US military needs to become stronger to deter a war with China, and the US must be careful not to drive China and Russia closer into a military alliance.

The US-led NATO is planning to open a liaison office in Japan as part of its strategy to deal with the perceived geopolitical challenges posed by China to the transatlantic military alliance.

It is no secret that NATO has in recent years sought to strengthen its military ties with its Asia-Pacific partners by hyping up the perceived threat from China, despite Beijing reiterating that the Western powers should not use pretexts to turn the region into a geopolitical battlefield.

In conclusion, the editorial observed that the planned opening of NATO’s liaison office in Tokyo does not bode well for regional peace and stability.