France is holding up a deal to expand NATO’s reach into Asia, opening a split in the Western security alliance on the eve of a vital summit next week.
For months, NATO officials have been discussing plans to open a liaison office in Japan, which would represent the allies’ first outpost in the region at a time of growing tension between the West and China. […]
For months, NATO officials have been discussing plans to open a liaison office in Japan, which would represent the allies’ first outpost in the region at a time of growing tension between the West and China.
Next week’s annual leaders’ summit in Lithuania —taking place against the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine — was earmarked as a moment for making progress on the plan.
But French President Emmanuel Macron has put his foot down, insisting such geographical expansion would risk shifting the alliance’s remit too far from its original North Atlantic focus.
“We are not in favor as a matter of principle,” an Elysée Palace official told reporters on Friday. “As far as the office is concerned, the Japanese authorities themselves have told us that they are not extremely attached to it.” Läs artikel