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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and representatives from NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners (Australia, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand) met on the sidelines of the NATO Summit 2025.

A strong joint statement, issued at the end of the meeting, reaffirmed their shared commitment to dialogue, cooperation, and defense preparedness.

Despite the deepening ties and increasing cooperation between the NATO alliance and its partners in the Indo-Pacific region, the absence of key Indo-Pacific leaders from the NATO Summit in The Hague cast a subtle shadow over the proceedings, highlighting the diplomatic tensions simmering beneath otherwise warm declarations of unity.

Joint statement

The joint statement emphasized the growing strategic importance of cooperation between the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions. “We, NATO Secretary General Rutte and NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners, reaffirm the importance of our relationship,” the statement declared.

“We are committed to strengthening our dialogue and cooperation, based on shared strategic interests and common values, and on the recognition that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is interconnected,” it added.

The statement also thanked Indo-Pacific nations for their continued support to Ukraine, especially in the face of ongoing Russian aggression. “Secretary General Rutte expresses NATO’s gratitude to the Indo-Pacific partners for their steadfast support to Ukraine, including through NATO. Our cooperation is also deepening through our Flagship Projects.”

"China already has the world's largest navy and its battle force is expected to grow to 435 ships by 2030."

Mark Rutte (@SecGenNATO) spoke recently at @ChathamHouse about 🇨🇳's rising military power in the Indo-Pacific.

Watch our event➡️ https://t.co/DI7jX3VjKf pic.twitter.com/LJVTH5rcEe

— Chatham House (@ChathamHouse) June 25, 2025

Defense spending and industrial cooperation

Amid a deteriorating global security environment, NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners pledged to boost defense budgets and expand industrial collaboration. “Driven by a more dangerous and unpredictable global security environment, we recognize the extraordinary changes currently happening, with NATO Allies developing more defense capacity and more defense innovation.”

The alliance and its partners committed to transparent increases in defense spending and emphasized cooperative development in critical domains like space, maritime operations, and munitions.

“We are all transparently increasing our respective defense spending and will look to enhance our defense industrial cooperation. We are committed to doing so in various ways, building on our respective strengths and interests.”

Plans for future collaboration in key sectors

The statement outlines practical initiatives for the future, such as joint capability development, secure supply chains, and shared procurement systems. NATO and the Indo-Pacific countries also pledged to explore partnerships in emerging and dual-use technologies.

“We will explore collaboration on projects to deliver capabilities together with interested NATO Allies and partners, including in the space and maritime domains, and the area of munitions,” the statement read.

The statement added, “We will continue to build on our regular cooperation on emerging and disruptive technologies and will look for opportunities to foster cooperation on innovation through relevant actors, including dual-use start-ups.”

Interoperability and standards integration

Ensuring interoperability between NATO and Indo-Pacific forces was another core focus. The parties committed to aligning standards and technical frameworks so their militaries can operate together effectively during future joint missions or in crisis situations.

“We recognize the importance of enhancing the interoperability of our forces, including through pursuing the same standards, where appropriate, so that we can continue to work together effectively.”

Absence of key Indo-Pacific leaders

Despite the spirit of cooperation, the absence of three of the four Indo-Pacific leaders, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, from the NATO summit raised some questions. Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba cancelled his trip to the Netherlands, reportedly due to U.S. pressure to increase Japan’s defense spending to 5% of GDP.

Japanese media outlets said Ishiba found the pressure excessive, especially given Japan’s post-war pacifist constitution and domestic economic concerns.

South Korea’s incumbent President Lee Jae-myung and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also chose not to attend. Albanese had previously said he would attend the summit unless Parliament required his presence. Although the parliament is not in session this week, Albanese refrained from traveling to the Netherlands for the summit. Australia was represented by Defense Minister Richard Marles.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, was the only state leader from the Indo-Pacific Four present at the summit.

Though not members of NATO, leaders of the “Indo-Pacific Four”, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, have attended NATO summits since 2021 to coordinate on shared threats like cyberattacks, disinformation, and military intimidation from China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, presiding over his first NATO summit since taking office, played down the significance of the missing Indo-Pacific leaders when asked by reporters.

“We will have very senior representatives here,” Rutte said at a pre-summit press conference, adding that “In summits like this that a program changes from day to day a little bit. But I would not read too much into it.”

In closing, the joint declaration made a strong political statement about the global nature of today’s security challenges. “Increasing NATO – NATO-Indo-Pacific partners’ cooperation is important in this unpredictable security environment. We owe it to our security today, and for our future generations.”

As Secretary General Rutte and Indo-Pacific partners continue to forge deeper ties, the vision of a transcontinental security alliance may no longer be aspirational; it may be the new reality of international order in the 21st century.