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France reluctant to opening NATO liaison office in Japan

07 June 2023 06:48 (UTC +04:00)

France has expressed reluctance about NATO's proposal to open a liaison office in Japan, saying the organization's treaty limits the area it covers, French diplomatic sources told NHK on Tuesday, APA reports.

According to the source, diplomatic sources told NHK that NATO is an organization that serves the North Atlantic region.

This comes in response to remarks made on May 10 by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He said that the organization is in talks with the Japanese government to open an office in Tokyo.

Stoltenberg said NATO needs to step up its relationship with its Indo-Pacific partners.

French sources said if NATO needs to monitor the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, the embassies of its member countries should take on that role.

Observers say France may be reluctant because it wants to avoid irritating China. Macron visited China in April seeking to increase economic ties between the two countries.