Japan's PM, in Indonesia, says SE Asia key for his nation
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, in Indonesia on his first overseas trip since taking office, expressed his backing Tuesday for Southeast Asian efforts toward achieving peace in the South China Sea, while promoting Japan's “free and open Indo-Pacific” concept of regional cooperation in countering China.
Suga, on a four-day visit to Vietnam and Indonesia, arrived Tuesday from the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. Southeast Asia was chosen for his first trip since succeeding Shinzo Abe as prime minister last month in order to demonstrate the region’s importance to Japan.
After holding talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Suga said Southeast Asian countries are key to pursuing Japan's “free and open Indo-Pacific,” or FOIP, and that he told Widodo that “Japan is committed to contributing to the peace and prosperity in the region.”
“I fully support the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, which Indonesia initiated, as it has a lot of fundamental commonalities with Japan's free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.
Widodo welcomed Japan’s support for Southeast Asian nations and said that “the spirit of inclusive cooperation also needs to be promoted in the context of Indo-Pacific cooperation as reflected in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific."
"I also underlined my hope that the South China Sea can continue to be a sea of peace and stability,” he said.
Suga said the two leaders also agreed to deepen and strengthen bilateral defense ties and will work toward holding a second “two-plus-two” foreign and defense ministerial talks. Japan has similar ministerial talks with the U.S., Australia and some other countries, while Indonesia is the only member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with that channel. The two sides also agreed to work toward achieving a...