BEIJING (Reuters) – The Asia-Pacific region does not welcome NATO’s plan to open a liaison office in Japan, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing on Wednesday, after Japan acknowledged NATO’s plan.
“We want to say that the Asia-Pacific does not welcome group confrontation, does not welcome military confrontation,” Mao said.
She also said Japan should be “extra cautious on the issue of military security” given its “history of aggression”.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said earlier in the day the country had no plans to become a NATO member, even though the U.S.-led military pact was planning a Tokyo office, its first in Asia, to facilitate consultations in the region.
(Reporting by Laurie Chen and Ethan Wang; Writing by Albee Zhang and Liz Lee; Editing by Jason Neely and Conor Humphries)
