China and Russia are increasing their military collaboration, Japan’s foreign minister warns

Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European and Indo-Pacific security is indivisible, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Saturday.

Hayashi told European and Indo-Pacific foreign ministers in Sweden that Russia’s intervention in Ukraine had “shaken the very foundation of the international order” and required a united reaction.

“Otherwise, similar challenges will arise in other regions and the existing order which has underpinned our peace and prosperity could fundamentally overturn,” Hayashi added.

China maintains a “no limits” connection with Moscow and blames the U.S. and NATO for the war, while Japan supports Ukraine. In March, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Kyiv.

Hayashi warned Beijing of “continuing and intensifying its unilateral attempts” to change the status quo in the East and South China seas by force and increasing its military exercises surrounding Taiwan.

“In addition, China and Russia are strengthening their military collaboration, including joint flights of their bombers and joint naval exercises near Japan,” Hayahshi stated.

China claims most of the South China Sea and Japanese-held islands in the East China Sea.

Hayashi cautioned that North Korea was “escalating provocations” by launching ballistic missiles “with a frequency and in a manner that are unprecedented.”

The summit north of Stockholm included dozens of EU and Indo-Pacific ministers. Talks excluded China.

Since Russia’s hostility to Ukraine, European and Pacific security are intertwined. “So this is very important and this is very meaningful that the European ministers and also the ministers from the Pacific area are jointly discussing those issues here in Stockholm,” Hayashi told reporters as he arrived.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar claimed the Ukraine war was a worldwide issue that exacerbated climate change and the COVID-19 epidemic.

“We all approach it differently,” she remarked. “A country like Pakistan has learned that percolation of conflict is never the answer; that we want an end to hostilities and conflict so people can go back to building lives rather than destroying more lives.”