FT: Macron opposed the opening of a NATO office in Japan

The French authorities do not support the initiative to open an office of the North Atlantic Alliance in Tokyo, insisting on limiting NATO’s geography to the North Atlantic. This was announced on Monday, June 5, by informed sources of The Financial Times.

According to the newspaper, French President Emmanuel Macron opposed the opening of a NATO office in Japan, which is not part of the military blocs. In his opinion, such a step does not meet the alliance’s priorities.

In addition, the Elysee Palace fears that such actions could “undermine China’s confidence in Europe.” The FT source stressed that France “reluctantly supports any initiative that leads to tension between NATO and China.”

The opening of the first office of the North Atlantic Alliance in Asia to facilitate the process of consultations in the region was previously announced by the Ambassador of Japan to the United States. At the same time, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida specified that at the moment his country does not want to join NATOhowever, plans to develop cooperation with countries that are members of the North Atlantic Alliance.

The media noted that the opening of a liaison office in Tokyo by the North Atlantic Alliance was not a symbolic step, but a significant step by NATO to create a security system around China, which harm all the countries of the regionincluding Japan itself.