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WASHINGTON — Western nations and leading democracies in the Indo-Pacific must remain “closely bound” in the face of the “deepening” partnership between Russia and China that’s not dissolving anytime soon, according to a senior Japanese diplomat.
“I think by now there’s no doubt, very little doubt, about the inter-linkage and the commonality of security interests of the two communities, Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific,” Tamaki Tsukada, chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of Japan to the United States, said during an event at the US Institute of Peace on Tuesday. “Why?… One, of course, is the evolution or the deepening of the Russia-China strategic partnership and, of course, [the] most striking development is the Ukraine war.”
Tsukada’s comments came during the opening hours of a high-profile NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Unsurprisingly, a major focus of the event has been Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, and Kyiv’s potential accession into the alliance.
Read more of Breaking Defense’s coverage of this year’s NATO Summit.
Tsukada was speaking in Washington alongside other senior diplomats representing the four major democracies in the Indo-Pacific, all of whom have informal but growing relationships with NATO: Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.
“Another important factor that I think Europeans or the Euro-Atlantic community is beginning to realize is that Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine is only sustainable if China continues to support Russia,” he said.
“There is also recognition amongst all the players that the Russia-China partnership is going to stay for the foreseeable future,” he added.
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During the Tuesday event, all the senior diplomats in as many words stressed a need for their respective countries to remain engaged in the affairs of the Euro-Atlantic community, and vice versa, but stopped short of calling for formalized relationships with NATO.
“The threats we face currently are global and inter-connected,” Tsukada said, citing a recent NATO document. “I think this captures the fundamental reason why our two communities are so bound closely… The blatant violation of international law and norms, the unilateral aggression by Russia and the attempt to change the status quo by force, that of course is the reason why we are all united against Russia.”
When asked about recent reports about NATO’s interest in opening a physical office in Tokyo — and France’s blockade of such a move — Tsukada said the office itself was “not the important thing.”
“The important thing is that we continue to develop this gradual understanding” of each nation’s “threat perception” and policies regarding Russia and China, he said.
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