NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has labeled China’s military expansion “staggering” in a visit to Japan, highlighting increased security concerns and the need for enhanced NATO-Asia Pacific collaboration.
In an interview with The Japan Times, Rutte urged world leaders not to be complacent about Beijing’s defence capabilities growing rapidly. “Let us not be naive about China,” he said. “Their military build-up and investment in defence industries are truly staggering.”
Rutte made the remarks as he visited the Yokosuka naval base and a Japanese defence company on Tuesday, prior to top-level talks with Japan’s Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. He stressed that NATO and Japan have shared democratic values and similar strategic challenges, such as heightened military activities by China, North Korea, and Russia.
A more robust Japan-NATO partnership is needed in a more dangerous world,” Rutte said, citing the global stakes of heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions.
Japan, with mounting regional threats, is doubling its defence budget. Defence Minister Nakatani greeted the visit and reiterated the call for greater NATO cooperation.
Rutte’s visit is as US President Donald Trump keeps urging NATO allies to increase defense spending and invites Asia-Pacific allies to take a more active leadership role in containing China and North Korea. In Rutte’s view, the US wants NATO to play an expanded role in projecting power in the Asia-Pacific not under Article 5, but through strategic partnerships and coordination.
NATO has been building relations with regional allies Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, all referred to as IP4. Rutte articulated the alliance’s desire to deepen these relations beyond communiques, including through increased intelligence-sharing and defence-industrial cooperation.
Tokyo has also increased military cooperation with European nations, recently initiating a new security partnership with the EU.
