The European Union and Japan has announced a partnership for security and defence, as they seek to step up military ties amid growing tensions with China, North Korea and Russia. This is the first that the EU has concluded with an Asia Pacific country.
The text of the EU-Japan Security and Defence Partnership said they would promote “concrete naval cooperation” including through activities such as joint exercises and port calls, which could also include “mutually designated third countries”. It also said the EU and Japan would discuss “the development of respective defence initiatives including exchange of information on defence industry-related matters”.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters of the dangers faced by members of the affected region, in Tokyo on Friday, alongside Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya. “We live in a very dangerous world. We live in a world of growing rivalries, climate accidents and threats of war. And there is only one antidote to this challenging world, which is partnerships among friends,” Borrell added, while announcing the security partnership.
Earlier on Friday, Borrell met Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and shared the view that security in Europe and the Asia Pacific is interconnected as they agreed to deepen defence cooperation, Japan’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement. The officials expressed grave concerns about North Korea’s missile development programme, saying they are significant challenges for the international community. Borrell took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle saying, “We reaffirmed the need for strengthened EU-Japan cooperation in security and defence, including on maritime security, cyber and hybrid threats amid growing regional and global security challenges.”
Japan, under a new security strategy adopted in 2022, has been rapidly accelerating its military buildup through its alliance with the United States, its only treaty ally, and other partners, including Australia, the United Kingdom and a number of European and Asia Pacific countries, to deter an increasingly assertive China.
Borrel also spoke on the significance and importance of the agreement saying, “It is an historical and very timely step given the situation in both of our regions.” The EU official is in Tokyo as part of an East Asia tour that includes South Korea, where he will also hold a strategic dialogue, underscoring the EU’s increasing engagement with the Asia Pacific region, as China and Russia step up joint military activities and North Korea sends troops to Russia.
Borrell and Iwaya also shared “grave concerns” about Russia’s deepening military cooperation with North Korea, including the North’s troop deployment to Russia and arms transfers between the two countries. Their talks came a day after North Korea test-fired what is believed to be a new type of ICBM-class ballistic missile. The two officials reiterated their commitment to supporting Ukraine and condemned Russian aggression.
Link to Josep Borrell’s X post:
https://twitter.com/JosepBorrellF/status/1852318170326925341
