Lawmakers in the House urge NATO to set up liaison offices in the Indo-Pacific region
The Chinese Communist Party is a ‘new authoritarian adversary’ facing NATO allies, the lawmakers said.
Two House lawmakers are urging NATO to establish liaison offices in the Indo-Pacific, given that the transatlantic alliance is facing new challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chairman and ranking member of the House Select Committee on the CCP, respectively, said in a statement that Tokyo could be one of the locations for the liaison offices, according to a press release issued on July 11.
Their suggestion comes as NATO allies called communist China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine in a joint declaration during the NATO summit in Washington. This year, the summit was joined by NATO’s four Asia-Pacific partners: Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
The lawmakers noted that NATO, founded 75 years ago, was established to “advance the collective defense of like-minded nations against Soviet aggression.”
“Today those nations and their shared principles are under threat from a new authoritarian adversary—the Chinese Communist Party,” the statement reads.
“NATO’s call today for the Chinese Communist Party to end its backing for Russia while reaffirming the alliance’s support for Ukraine is an important step forward for regional and global security as well as a recognition of the relevance of the Indo-Pacific to the security of NATO’s member states,” it adds.
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In the joint declaration, NATO member states said China should stop sending dual-use materials, including weapon components and raw materials, to Russia.
Possible Office in Japan
“To build on this progress and further strengthen international security, the alliance should open additional liaison offices in the Indo-Pacific, including in Tokyo, while incorporating the Philippines and other partners from the region in future NATO summits,” the statement reads.
The idea of establishing a NATO liaison office in Japan surfaced last year. In May 2023, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida acknowledged NATO’s plan of opening an office in his country.
NATO has similar liaison offices in several countries, including Austria, Ukraine, and Switzerland.
During the NATO summit held in Washington on July 9–11, NATO announced that it would open a new liaison office in Amman, the capital of Jordan.
In January last year, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visited Japan. During a joint press conference with Mr. Kishida, Mr. Stoltenberg said, “No NATO partner is closer or more capable than Japan.”
Mr. Stoltenberg praised Japan again during the NATO summit in Washington. With Mr. Kishida standing by his side, he told reporters, “Japan is really one of the most capable, closest partners NATO has.”
At the same press conference, Mr. Kishida said that the securities of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific “are inseparable” while announcing plans for greater security cooperation with NATO.
Sara Bjerg Moller, nonresident senior fellow in the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, discussed in an article published in June last year that “the opening of a NATO liaison office in Japan is unlikely to fundamentally alter the Indo-Pacific security architecture much.”
“Rather than signaling some ambitious opening move in a larger strategic game of geopolitical chess, the opening of a NATO liaison office in Japan instead would mark the culmination of a multi-year process by NATO officials to improve ties with long-standing partner countries in the region,” she wrote.
The Japanese government released its 2024 defense white paper on July 12, saying the country is “facing the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II.”
“It cannot be ruled out that a serious situation similar to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine may occur in the Indo-Pacific region in [the] future, particularly in East Asia,” the annual report reads, likely referring to a potential conflict between the Chinese regime and Taiwan. “The overall military balance between China and Taiwan is rapidly tilting in China’s favor.”
The annual report also discussed the importance of preventing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
“If such aggression is tolerated, it could send out the wrong message and implication that unilateral changes to the status quo by force are also acceptable elsewhere. Accordingly, the international community, including Japan, should never tolerate Russia’s action,” the report reads.
