TOKYO
\nSoutheast Asian and Japanese leaders agreed on Sunday to boost maritime security cooperation in the face of Beijing\u2019s growing assertiveness, seen most recently in a spate of confrontations with Philippine vessels.
\nBeijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, a vital trade corridor, and its increased deployment of vessels and other methods to assert its claims in disputed areas have riled nations across the region as well as Washington.
\nWithout identifying China, Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) agreed to \u201cstrengthen dialogue and cooperation for the maintenance of maritime security and safety (and) maritime order based on the rule of law\u201d, a joint statement said after a summit in Tokyo.
\nClose US ally Japan, which also has territorial and other disputes with China, is hiking defence spending and has expanded security cooperation with countries across the Asia-Pacific region.
\nJapan announced on Saturday it would deepen ties with Malaysia and provide 400 million yen ($2.8 million) for \u201cwarning and surveillance\u201d equipment. Japan agreed last month to help the Philippines buy coastguard vessels and to supply a radar system, and the two are discussing allowing troop deployments on each other\u2019s soil.
\nJapan expressed \u201cserious concern\u201d last week about \u201cdangerous actions\u201d after the latest tense confrontation between Philippine and Chinese vessels at flashpoint reefs, which included a collision and Chinese ships shooting water cannon.
\nPhilippine President Ferdinand Marcos said in an interview with Japan\u2019s public broadcaster NHK on Saturday that \u201cthe situation in the (South) China Sea has grown more and more complicated\u201d.
\n\u201cWe are at a turning point in history, and the free and open international order based on the rule of law is facing serious challenges while we are facing complex and multiple challenges such as climate change and inequality,\u201d Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday.
\n\u201cWhile the world is facing complex crises as division and conflict escalate in many places, Japan will tackle the challenges together with Asean countries, which are linchpins of the free and open Indo-Pacific,\u201d he said, using a term for the Asia-Pacific region used by the US and its allies.
\nJapan and Asean leaders also agreed to strengthen supply chain resilience and to deepen cooperation on tackling climate change, in energy, critical minerals, space and other areas like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
\nIn a speech at a dinner he hosted, Kishida said the leaders will launch an initiative \u201cfor the next generation automotive industry\u201d, so that Asean remains the world\u2019s \u201cleading hub for automotive production and export\u201d.
\nJapan was due to host on Monday a meeting of its Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) initiative that will see Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joining virtually, officials said. Tokyo has come under fire from environmental groups for financing fossil fuel projects around Asia and promoting unproven methods aimed at reducing emissions \u2014 like ammonia and carbon capture \u2014 instead of using renewables.
\nAbsent from the Asean summit, which marked 50 years of ties with Japan, was Myanmar which has been frozen out of high-level meetings since the military coup of 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TOKYO Southeast Asian and Japanese leaders agreed on Sunday to boost maritime security cooperation in the face of Beijing\u2019s growing assertiveness, seen most recently in a spate of confrontations with Philippine vessels. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, a vital trade corridor, and its increased deployment of vessels and other methods to assert […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375361,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-375347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n