On March 7, almost two years after it first submitted its application and a year after Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Sweden officially became part of NATO’s 32nd member. Sweden’s accession, which was held up by Turkey and Hungary since it first submitted its application in May 2022, soon after Russia’s Ukraine … Read more
Since September, Russia and North Korea have negotiated and executed a series of arms deals. The summit between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin that was held that month at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East, right after the visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to the Pyongyang military parade in July, … Read more
Flashpoints | Security | Central Asia Sergei Shoigu also accused NATO of trying to expand its footprint in the Asia-Pacific under the pretense of seeking dialogue and collaboration with regional countries. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu speaks at the 10th Beijing Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, Oct. 30, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan Advertisement Russia’s defense minister accused the … Read more
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio meets with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 12, 2023. Sweden is poised to join NATO as the newest member. Credit: Prime Minister’s Office of Japan Advertisement Japan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have laid out fresh plans … Read more
Advertisement Is New Zealand about to join a “NATO-Plus”? That seems to be the effective endgame, if reports ahead of New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ attendance at the NATO summit in Lithuania are anything to go by. Formally, the expansion by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into the Indo-Pacific is unlikely to use … Read more
Advertisement Earlier this year, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the organization was considering the opening of a liaison office in Japan by 2024. Amid the growing tensions between the United States and China, the latest move from the transatlantic alliance is perceived as a way to shore up Western security partnerships in the … Read more
The Debate | Opinion Although Indo-Pacific countries are seemingly receptive to the idea, NATO’s greater involvement in the region may well do more harm than good to security and stability. Advertisement Last week the news broke that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intends to open a liaison office in Japan, the first of its kind in … Read more
Advertisement “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.” This chilling statement – uttered by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio at the Shangri-la Security Dialogue summit in Singapore last year – perfectly encapsulates the growing sense of urgency over the security situation in Japan. Policymakers in Tokyo, far from standing still, have made proactive efforts to … Read more