Macron Opposes NATO Tokyo Office Plan 2023

According to the online version of the Financial Times published on Monday, French President Emanuel Macron has voiced his opposition to a plan by NATO to create an office in Tokyo.

According to the story, Macron’s objection stems from apparent fears that the move may exacerbate tensions between the transatlantic alliance and China.

According to a British business newspaper, Macron emphasized his cautious attitude on expanding NATO’s geographic reach beyond its own North Atlantic zone to the Indo-Pacific region during a conference he attended the week prior.

Macron is against NATO’s proposed Tokyo office.

The meeting took place in France. According to the report, French President Emmanuel Macron was recently cited as stating that if “we push NATO to enlarge the spectrum and the geography, we will make a big mistake.”

Given that the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s top decision-making body, requires majority approval from all member states in order to establish a NATO office, the reluctance shown by France may make it impossible for the alliance to create what would be its first outpost in the Indo-Pacific.

In an interview given in April when he was on a state visit to China, French President Emmanuel Macron sparked a controversy when he said that Europe should not be a follower of the United States in regards to the tensions between Washington and Beijing regarding Taiwan.