February 13th 2002
Japan supports the idea of augmenting defense cooperation among Asian nations via an alliance similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the director-general of the Japan Defense Agency, Gen Nakatani, said Wednesday.
“I think we should do everything possible to obtain support for such an organization,” Nakatani said, adding that the cooperation of China, Russia, the Koreas and the United States was essential for the system to work.
Japan plans to present its initiative at a meeting sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore next June.
According to Nakatani, closer regional cooperation around security issues is a worldwide trend from which the Asia-Pacific area should not be excluded.
