Netherlands

The Netherlands, informally Holland, is a country located in Northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces; it borders Germany to the east and Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coastline to the north and west. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium. The official language is Dutch, with West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of Friesland. Dutch, English, and Papiamento are official in the Caribbean territories. [w]

Japan Self Defense Forces Increasing Collaboration With Foreign Militaries

Shimpei Kawakami from Nikkei:

European countries are sending more air and sea forces to Asia for defense exercises with Japan, bringing them closer to what remains a distant security challenge: China.

A destroyer from Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force held an exercise with a Turkish navy corvette on Sunday. Earlier this month, a Dutch frigate participated in the Netherlands' first joint exercise with an MSDF destroyer before heading to the upcoming U.S.-led international Rim of the Pacific exercise off Hawaii.

Regardless if anyone will say it out loud, but Japan is clearly a hub for a greater Pacific alliance of western nations against China, Russia, and North Korea. The real question is if Abe's dream of expanding the SDF into a military will become reality within this framework.