Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) shakes hands with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the start of their bilateral conference at the prime minister’s main home in Tokyo on December 16,2023 (Photo by Franck ROBICHON/ SWIMMING POOL/ AFP) (Photo by FRANCK ROBICHON/POOL/AFP through Getty Images)
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Japan and Malaysia signed a security support offer on Saturday consisting of a grant of 400 million yen ($ 2.8 million) to increase Malaysia’s maritime security, as Asian countries look for to counter a progressively assertive China.
Japan will offer devices such as rescue boats and materials under the main security support offer, signed by the 2 nations’ foreign ministers on the sidelines of a Tokyo top marking 50 years of ties in between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida invited the elevation of the Japan-Malaysia relationship to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” Japan’s foreign ministry stated in a declaration.
In addition to Malaysia, ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts of the South China Sea contested by China, which declares practically all of the waterway that is an avenue for more than $3 trillion of yearly ship-borne commerce. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 stated China’s claims had no legal basis.
China and Japan recently implicated each other of maritime attacks after a conflict in between their coast guards in waters around islands they both claim in the East China Sea.
Japan’s help to Malaysia follows comparable handle the Philippines and Bangladesh this year and belongs to a strategy revealed in April for Japan to offer establishing nations with monetary support to strengthen their defences.
In the three-day top through Sunday, Japan is using ASEAN members support to increase their standing as worldwide stars and assist them handle their relations with others, consisting of China, stated an authorities at Japan’s foreign ministry.
Kishida is anticipated to satisfy independently with the leaders of all the ASEAN members, which likewise consist of Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Laos and Timor-Leste
