Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi highlighted the importance of the rules-based global order at the Munich Security Conference, linking Indo-Pacific security to the Euro-Atlantic region amid concerns over Chinese military activities. He pledged to keep communication channels open with China despite strained ties.
At the Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 14, 2026, Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi delivered a speech reiterating the importance of the rules-based global order. He connected the security of the Indo-Pacific to the Euro-Atlantic region, as Japan maintains a watchful eye on Chinese military movements in Asia.
"The very foundations that have underpinned the international order are being tested by real world actions," Koizumi said on Friday. "Attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force must never be tolerated. That is why Japan does not view Ukraine as a distant European problem."
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Japanese leaders have repeatedly drawn parallels between the two regions, stressing that "Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow." This phrasing serves as an indirect reference to the potential for a similar conflict in the Indo-Pacific, particularly involving a Chinese assault on democratic Taiwan.
Koizumi also committed to not "shut down any channels" of communication, even as ties with China remain in a deep freeze. Relevant keywords include defense, defense ministry, Germany, Munich, China, PLA, Europe, Indo-Pacific, Shinjiro Koizumi, and SDF. The address underscores Japan's strategy of aligning European security concerns with its own regional interests.
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