Ukraine, Cyber Defense Discussed in Meetings with Japanese Senators
Estonian Minister of Defense Sven Mikser met Masaaki Yamazaki, the chairman of the upper house of the Japanese National Diet, the nation's bicameral legislature, today to discuss the crisis in Ukraine as well as cyber defense related cooperation between Estonia and Japan.
At the meeting in Tallinn, Yamazaki stressed that Japan considered it completely unacceptable to change national borders by force and he also condemned the shooting down of the passenger plane over eastern Ukraine on Thursday.
Mikser said the current crisis in Ukraine was not a conflict between the central government and a Russian minority but rather an aggressive bid by Moscow to split the Ukrainian state. “Shooting down flight MH17 is the consequence of this policy, and the Kremlin bears ultimate responsibility for it,” said Mikser.
Also discussed at the meeting was defense cooperation between Estonia and Japan, which has primarily focused on cyber defense. Yamazaki hailed Estonia’s progress in developing the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence.
“Countries with a well-developed cyber sphere are unfortunately also the most vulnerable to potential cyber attacks. That is why countries with advanced IT sectors, such as Estonia and Japan, must also make their cooperation in the field of cyber defense even closer,” said Mikser.
The delegation from the House of Councillors of the National Diet of Japan, which will continue its visit tomorrow, was also due to meet today with Estonian Speaker Eiki Nestor and other MPs, along with Foreign Minister Urmas Paet. They will also visit the ICT Demo Center and the aforementioned NATO cyber defense center.