Japan's Concerns About Expansion of Military Cooperation Between Russia and China

The Japanese Foreign Minister expressed concern about military cooperation between Russia and China in Asia and said that the security situation in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region is inextricably linked to the beginning of the attack on Ukraine. Japan firmly supports Ukraine in its war with Russia, but China says it will remain neutral, while declaring "unrestricted" relations with Moscow, accusing the US and NATO of provoking the conflict.

The Japanese Prime Minister visited Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in March at the same time as Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow. According to the Associated Press, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, speaking at a meeting of European and Indo-Pacific foreign ministers in Sweden, said Russia's war in Ukraine "has shaken the foundations of the international order and must face a unified response from the international community." ".

He accused Beijing of "continuing and intensifying unilateral efforts" to change the current situation in the seas in east and south China through the use of force and intensifying military operations around Taiwan, and also said that China and Russia are also strengthening military cooperation, in including in the form of joint bomber flights and joint naval exercises in the vicinity of Japan. Hayashi also said that North Korea is "provoking" the region by launching ballistic missiles "at an unprecedented frequency and in an unprecedented way."