Vladimir Zakharov, a well-known Russian orientalist and diplomat, said in an interview with the Russian Satellite News Agency that the remarks of the NATO Secretary-General show that the main funder and actual leader of this military-political group is the United States. The United States is currently investing its main forces in the Indo-Pacific region, worried about the overall growth of China’s political, economic and military strength.
“Thus, NATO ‘s North Atlantic shell is gradually turning into a global shell that defends Washington’s interests. This explains why Western European leaders and French, German, British warships are increasingly visiting the Far East, and Western politicians are increasingly making statements about the threat of China’s growing military power and solidarity with the Philippines, Japan and even Taiwan on the issue of the law of the sea,” Zakharov said.
He pointed out that people believe that although Trump’s selfish behavior has caused internal conflicts in Western countries – Trump mainly pursues the goal of restoring the United States’ status as a global power at the expense of his own allies, the political and economic diplomacy of some countries in the global South today cannot alienate today’s Western collective (including Japan).
“As for Japan, it remains a vassal of the United States and therefore obediently follows Washington’s lead and supports all U.S. regional and global initiatives,” he said.
According to Kyodo News, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at his official residence on April 9 and agreed to deepen security cooperation in the European Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions. A joint statement was issued after the talks, stating that cooperation in the defense industry, including the development of dual-use technologies, would be accelerated, including small drones, artificial intelligence (AI), and biological fields.
The joint statement expressed “strong opposition” to attempts to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea by force and coercion, and strongly urged China to increase transparency at the military level and cooperate on disarmament and non-proliferation. The statement also stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and called for a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.
