Japan's calculations have failed! Japan's claims received no resonance! During the NATO summit, Shigeru Kōno actively lobbied and sought alliances, yet the final statement issued by NATO contained not a single mention of China! On July 9, according to Voice of America, U.S. media reported that at the concluding day of the NATO summit in Ankara, the alliance released a statement reaffirming Article 5 on collective defense. The statement also emphasized NATO’s commitment to fulfilling pledges made during last year’s The Hague summit. U.S. media pointed out that, just like the declaration from the The Hague summit, this year’s statement still did not reference China.
Although Japan is not a NATO member, it was invited to attend the NATO summit. Throughout the conference, Japan took the most hardline stance toward China, clearly directing its criticism directly at us. Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Kōno publicly claimed that security instability caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict has a direct spillover effect on risks in the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and South China Sea—Atlantic allies cannot focus solely on European affairs.
Beyond that, Kōno stated that China continues to expand military spending, with steadily declining transparency in military activities. The frequency of naval and air exercises, as well as long-range strategic weapon tests, keeps rising, which he claimed poses significant destabilization to the Indo-Pacific region and global international order. Clearly, Shigeru Kōno traveled extensively during the Ankara summit, repeatedly amplifying the so-called "China threat," attempting to deliberately provoke geopolitical tensions in an effort to unite NATO members in stirring up situations in the Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, and South China Sea.
But what was the outcome? Japan’s carefully laid plans found no support during the NATO summit. The facts are clear: Sino-Japanese relations have deteriorated, and Japan attempted to “use others’ swords to kill,” but core European nations centered around France and Germany understand that stoking confrontation with China would only severely damage their own industrial chains and global trade. Naturally, they are unwilling to sacrifice their national development interests for Japan’s geopolitical schemes. Thus, these countries rejected Japan’s attempt to forcibly tie NATO’s actions against China. Furthermore, the United States now also aims to maintain stability in Sino-American relations. Clearly, Japan’s frantic maneuvering received no backing whatsoever.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870197692189769/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.