Tag - nato

 
 

NATO

U.S. President Donald Trump leaves a press conference at a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands on June 25, 2025.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 28, 2026
Bruised by Trump, NATO alliance considers end to annual summits
Trump has engaged repeatedly in scathing criticism of many of NATO members, most recently for not providing more assistance to U.S. military with Iran.
A couple views a vandalized poster of outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on April 13, one day after Hungary's general elections.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2026
Hungary’s shift unlocks new opportunities for NATO and Ukraine
Ukraine. By the time of his rejection by the electorate, he was widely regarded as Putin’s top ally in Europe and a Trojan horse inside the alliance.
Commander of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment, Maj. Gen. Toshikatsu Musha, and commander of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Amphibious and Mine Warfare Force, Rear Adm. Ikeuchi Izuru, attend the opening ceremony of the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercises, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on April 20.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 26, 2026
Beyond the hub-and-spoke: Japan quietly emerges as a secondary connector
Tokyo is positioning itself as a strategic hub for middle-power security diplomacy that reinforces the U.S.-led order while diversifying its own security partnerships.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, last October.
WORLD
Apr 25, 2026
Pentagon email floats suspending Spain from NATO, other steps over Iran rift
The message also proposes reviewing the U.S. position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands, an American official said.
A mock model of an upgraded Type-12 missile made by Japan is displayed during the DSEI Japan security show at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba in May last year.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2026
Partners line up for arms deals as Japan opens defense industry door
“A number of countries” have approached Tokyo with “expressions of interest and various needs” about Japanese defense equipment, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi prepares for a family photo session with NATO permanent representatives, including Romania's Dan Neculaescu (second from left) and Norway’s Anita Nergaard (right) at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 17, 2026
From Brussels to Tokyo — NATO delegation maps out next cooperation steps with Japan
Officials say the partnership could act as a force multiplier, combining Japan’s technological prowess with NATO’s operational experience.
U.S. allies should resist distancing themselves from Washington over Donald Trump and instead strengthen long-term economic and defense ties with the U.S. to safeguard their interests against emerging global rivals.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2026
The case for ‘hardened engagement’ with America
Allowing a distaste for one U.S. president (no matter how bombastic) to sever the ties that bind the free world is not only bad policy, it’s a recipe for strategic irrelevance.
Osamu Izawa, Japan's ambassador to NATO, speaks during an interview with The Japan Times at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 16, 2026
Japan-NATO cooperation enters new ‘concrete’ phase, Tokyo’s envoy to alliance says
The ambassador pointed to the creation of a high-level defense industry cooperation dialogue, but hinted that even more tie-ups were to come.
The scheduled visit to Japan on Wednesday of roughly 30 ambassadors to NATO comes amid heightened global volatility and growing friction within the organization.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 13, 2026
Eastward bound: Largest-ever NATO envoy delegation to visit Japan
The unprecedented visit by a delegation of roughly 30 ambassadors to NATO represents a significant milestone in deepening bilateral ties.
Peter Magyar, leader of the Tisza party, carries a Hungarian flag at an election night event during parliamentary elections in Budapest on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 13, 2026
Once inspired by Orban, Hungary’s Peter Magyar unseats him in landmark election
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s election defeat is expected to rattle Russia and send shockwaves through right-wing circles across the West.
Pedestrians cross Enghelab Square in Tehran, near a billboard showing Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new supreme leader, in the Iranian capital on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2026
The Indo-Pacific price of a hasty war with Tehran
The allies are not abandoning the U.S.; they are recoiling from a war that lacks a defined strategy.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One on his way to Virginia, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 11, 2026
U.S. asks allies for quick plans to secure Hormuz after pact
A U.K.-led coalition of more than 40 countries, which includes many European nations, Japan and Canada, has pledged to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right) and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the Department of State in Washington on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2026
Trump criticizes NATO over Iran in meeting with alliance’s boss
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he had a “a very frank, very open discussion” with the U.S. president and described the talk as one “between two good friends.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Rutte’s boosterism for U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran is said to have been at odds with the sentiment among most NATO members, with some observers seeing his comments as straying into domestic politics — historically off-limits for NATO leaders.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 8, 2026
As Trump pressures NATO, Europeans question the deference shown by its leader
Despite the NATO chief’s ability to connect with the U.S. president, Washington has cut aid to Ukraine, boosted Russia’s finances and sent economies reeling with his war on Iran.
German naval ships, including the Baden-Wuerttemberg frigate (front), during a military exercise in the North Sea last year, near Harstad, Norway
WORLD / Politics
Apr 8, 2026
NATO says Europe and Canada spent 20% more on defense in 2025
The spending boom reflects a shift within NATO, as U.S. President Donald Trump has questioned his country’s role and badgered others to expand their own military capabilities.
This handout from the European Space Agency shows a view of Iran's Kharg Island, which hosts the country's main crude export terminal and is responsible for the overwhelming majority of its oil shipments to the world.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2026
Will Kharg Island decide the future of U.S. alliances?
Kharg Island highlights how U.S. military power can act, but uncertain allied support now constrain America’s ability to translate action into strategic influence.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a news conference at the White House in Washington on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2026
Trump chides Japan over Iran war, even as Tokyo ramps up diplomatic moves
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan must communicate both with the U.S. and Iran, and is seeking telephone calls with the presidents of both countries.
British soldiers during a rapid ambush exercise during NATO military exercises on the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance on Oct. 4, 2025.
WORLD
Apr 6, 2026
The British military sees youth jobs crisis as an opportunity
A link is emerging between youth joblessness — now at the highest rate in over a decade — and applications being made to the forces.
NATO allies, including Britain, have backed the U.S. for decades and, while unlikely to join in the fight against Iran, would likely help secure the Strait of Hormuz if diplomacy fails.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2026
European allies should clear the Strait of Hormuz
Today, many in Europe recognize the threat of Iran, but were not willing to launch a sudden offensive operation against it without due consultation and giving diplomacy a chance.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes French leader Emmanuel Macron to the White House in Washington on Feb. 24.
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Apr 4, 2026
Trump’s America, an impossible ally?
The U.S. president’s attacks on NATO are eroding the alliance’s foundations and credibility, pushing Europeans to form ad hoc coalitions.

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