(Bloomberg) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization would find it useful to have an office in Tokyo, a Japanese lawmaker said Thursday, after the organization’s summit ended without an agreement on a proposal that has irked China.

“China is a major economic and military presence for Europe as well,” said Rui Matsukawa, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker and former vice defense minister. “There’s a possibility it could become a security threat,” and a Japan office would help the organization coordinate with regional partners, she said. “It wouldn’t only be good for Japan.” 

Matsukawa’s comments came after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Lithuania the idea of a Japan office was still on the table. French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed opposition to the idea, which has also been criticized by China.

Asked about the NATO office plan in May, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning warned the group not to extend its geopolitical reach and said Japan should be “prudent on military and security issues.” 

China Looms Large as NATO Allies Debate Expanded Role in Asia

Nonetheless, Matsukawa hailed the NATO summit as a success for Japan. Asia-Pacific leaders from South Korea, Australia and New Zealand as well as Japan were in attendance for the second straight year.

“I think NATO’s perception of the need to deal with China has been strengthened,” she said. The fact that the Japan office was even discussed marked a degree of progress, she added.

Japan agreed on a new pathway to deepen cooperation with NATO over the coming years, including in new fields such as cyber defense and tackling disinformation, at a meeting between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Stoltenberg. Practical cooperation on interoperability and standardization is also on the agenda. 

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