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The remarks concluded a tour of Singapore, Japan and South Korea, where the chancellor was challenged by Asian capitals over security and trade cooperation \u2014 and often reminded of how the region’s turmoil are intertwined with Europe’s precarious moment.<\/p>\n
‘Collective security’<\/h3>\n
One only has to look across the border. Shortly before Merz arrived in the demilitarized zone, North Korea fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan. The chancellor’s greatest security concerns at home \u2014 Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine and Moscow\u2019s threat to Europe \u2014 are increasingly becoming problems in the Asia-Pacific region as well.<\/p>\n
The fact that Pyongyang is able to launch so many ballistic missiles, testing and expanding its long-range strike capabilities, is directly linked to its cooperation with Russia. North Korea has been sending soldiers to the Russian front in Ukraine for two years and in return benefited from combat experience and technology transfers.<\/p>\n
North Korean state television on Thursday showed leader Kim Jong Un<\/a> with new military drones, including a potential stealth drone, underscoring the great strides the country is also making in drone development. These are serious security issues that other countries in the region, including Japan, cannot ignore.<\/p>\nBesides provocations from Pyongyang, there is China, which is not only becoming increasingly dominant in trade but also casting its eye toward Taiwan, making far-reaching territorial claims in the South China Sea and putting strong pressure on critics such as Japan. And there is Russia, which is forging close military ties with Beijing and carrying out joint bomber flights with the Chinese air force near the Japanese border.<\/p>\n
\u201cRussia\u2019s war against Ukraine is ever-present here in the region,\u201d Merz told reporters following his visit to the border. \u201cThere is no longer such a thing as unilateral security in the world, only collective security,\u201d he added, underscoring his call to \u201cwork closely\u201d with Japan, South Korea and Singapore \u201con security policy issues\u201d and in the defense industry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n