Japanese State leader Fumio Kishida on Friday said he needed to help out South Korea and the Philippines, partners imparted to the U.S., and even draw in with North Korea to advance territorial security.
“The current security environment is tough and complex, and we are at a turning point in history,” Kishida said in a group interview. “Cooperation between Japan and the United States and like-minded countries is a very important issue,” he added.
The Japanese chief talked in front of an arranged highest point one week from now with U.S. President Joe Biden, as the partners search for ways of countering China’s developing impact in Asia and hinder it from depending on military activity to determine its questions in the district.
The state visit to Washington, the first by a Japanese forerunner in quite a while, is intended to grandstand their nearby security and financial ties, with the two chiefs expected to examine participation on protection gear and a potential overhaul in the U.S. military order structure in Japan.
That meeting will be followed by a trilateral summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Close cooperation between Japan, the U.S., and the Philippines is crucial for a free and open order based on the rule of law and for economic prosperity in the region,” Kishida said.
Japan last year delivered four air defence radars to the Philippines and is negotiating a reciprocal access agreement with Manila that would make it easier for Japanese troops to train there.
A separate trilateral meeting between Kishida, Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the U.S. last year helped Tokyo mend relations with Seoul and bolster security cooperation.
Kishida has said he is also willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim “without any preconditions” in a bid to improve strained relations with the nuclear-armed regime.
Relations between the countries have been strained over disputes dating back to Japan’s occupation in the first half of the 20th century, and by North Korea’s past abduction of Japanese citizens.
