Nato, Indo-Pacific 4 pledge defence, tech boost as deeper China-Russia ties spark alarm
Nato chief Mark Rutte meets top officials from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea on sidelines of Ankara summit
Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday met with top officials from the Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) partner nations – Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea – on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Ankara.
The talks featured South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, New Zealand Defence Minister Chris Penk and the Australian defence industry minister, Pat Conroy.
Lee is the only IP4 state leader attending the two-day summit, which closes today.
According to the Japanese foreign ministry, Rutte and the IP4 leaders shared “candid” views on the international situation, including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Indo-Pacific such as issues related to China, their policies towards North Korea and the situation in Iran. They agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as the defence industry, cyberspace and technology, it said.
Nato intended to strengthen its relations with the IP4 to “appropriately address various challenges facing the international community”, Rutte was quoted as saying.