This week, NATO week held one of the most important summits in the trans-Atlantic security alliance’s history.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called it a “historic and transformative” meeting that produced a commitment to strengthen defenses against a revisionist Russia. Its new Strategic Concept, its guiding framework, highlighted the unity of global challenges, identifying China as a threat for the first time. And to respond to this new threat environment, NATO is developing a new relationship with its Asia-Pacific partners, one that ensure joint cooperation on issues of shared concern.

These are much desired steps by the organization, but their impact depends as much, if not more, on what those Asia-Pacific countries do — including Japan — than on NATO’s actions. Governments in this region must step up, prepare for mounting threats and show the unity of purpose and response that makes coordination between these two communities meaningful.