Japan and the European Union are launching a new security partnership to lay the groundwork for closer cooperation on a wide-ranging suite of defense and security issues.
The partnership is the first of its kind between the EU and an Indo-Pacific nation, according to Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who announced the deal on Nov. 1.
“Today we open a new chapter in our relations. A new chapter that is not about trade or economics, this is about security and defense,” Borell told reporters in Tokyo.
“This political framework deepens our ability to tackle emerging threats together, and work towards a future where our values of democracy, human rights, and the rules-based international order will continue to guide the way.”
The new partnership includes guidance for cooperation on maritime security, space security and defense, cyber issues, foreign disinformation, counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and disarmament, defense industry initiatives, and Japanese participation in EU missions.
It also establishes annual Japan–EU strategic dialogues at the foreign minister level, upgrades existing informal consultations to official annual dialogues, and builds out new dialogues on domains of shared interest including threat assessments in the Indo-Pacific.
“Security is no longer limited to traditional military and defense-related topics, but encompasses an increasingly broader range of closely linked dimensions, such as cyber and hybrid threats, maritime and outer space, as well as economic security,” the document reads.
The two sides will also consider a possible intelligence-sharing pact, promote exchanges of defense industry information, and cooperate in nuclear disarmament efforts.
Notably, the sweeping new partnership includes a commitment to conduct joint military exercises and comes amid increasing tensions with China, North Korea, and Russia.
China, North Korea, and Russia have all carried out aggressive maneuvers around Japan in recent years, as relations between those nations and the United States have further deteriorated.
There is therefore an increasing belief among EU and Japanese leadership that security in the two regions is tied together and that a failure to halt Russia’s aggression against Ukraine could encourage further Chinese and North Korean aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
To that end, the two leaders expressed “grave concern” about North Korean and Russian military cooperation.
They suggested that increased strategic partnerships between Europe and the Indo-Pacific were necessary to maintain the security of both.
“We live in a very dangerous world. We live in a world of growing rivalries, climate accidents, and threats of war,” Borrell said.
“And there is only one antidote to this challenging world, which is partnerships among friends.”
Borrell is touring East Asia and will also hold a strategic dialogue with South Korea later in the week, underscoring the EU’s engagement with the region.
