Japan yesterday called for stronger security ties with Southeast Asia as Tokyo looks to boost alliances at a time of growing territorial tensions with China.
Vice-minister-level representatives from Japan and 10-member ASEAN began a two-day gathering at a Tokyo hotel, with several participating nations embroiled in sovereignty rows with Beijing.
“The Asia-Pacific region has various issues concerning security and defense ... including territorial conflicts in the South China Sea,” Japanese Vice Defense Minister Akinori Eto told the opening session of the closed-door meeting.
“On top of the growing maturity of our economic cooperation, Japan and ASEAN need to further strengthen ties in the field of security and defense,” Eto said.
The meeting is the first high-ranking defense dialogue of its kind since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in late December last year following a landslide victory in elections.
“Our country changed governments late last year,” Eto said. “Under the new regime, we want to reinforce cooperation in security and defense with ASEAN countries, and contribute to peace in the region.”
Ahead of the meeting, the ASEAN participants met Abe late on Tuesday and voiced their high expectations of Japan “in dealing with various security issues of the Asia-Pacific region,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
Japan, along with several members of ASEAN, have locked horns with China over separate territorial disputes.
Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have deteriorated badly over the past year as the two sides argue about the sovereignty of the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in the East China Sea, also claimed by Taiwan.
On Tuesday, three Chinese government ships spent several hours in the 12 nautical mile (22.2km) territorial zone off one of the islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan.
ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as China and Taiwan, have claims to parts of the South China Sea, which contains some of the world’s most important shipping lanes and is believed to be rich in fossil fuels.
Simmering tensions over the issue have risen in the past two years, with the Philippines and Vietnam accusing China of becoming increasingly aggressive.
China claims most of the sea, including waters close to the shores of its neighbors.
Relations between the Philippines and China have become particularly tense since patrol vessels from both countries engaged in a stand-off over the Scarborough Shoal, known as Huangyan Island (黃岩島) in Taiwan, which also lays claim to it, in April last year.
Analysts said China’s recent prickliness meant regional alliances made sense.
“Japan and ASEAN can regard security cooperation as a realistic option because China is their common adversary,” said Hideshi Takesada, a Japanese defense expert and former professor at South Korea’s Yonsei University.
Japan reportedly plans to donate patrol boats worth more than US$10 million each to the Philippines, ramping up regional efforts to monitor China’s maritime activity in disputed waters.
The Japanese government plans hopes to sign the deal early next year, the Nikkei business daily reported last month.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College