
Prime Minister Ishiba Embarks on Southeast Asia Trip
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba embarked on a four-day trip to Malaysia and Indonesia on January 9, 2024, aiming to strengthen relations with key Southeast Asian neighbors and trading partners. This trip comes amidst China's increasing maritime presence in the region.
During his visit, Ishiba met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on January 10 and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto the following day. He emphasized the importance of Southeast Asian countries in today's uncertain global environment.
"Both Malaysia and Indonesia are key energy suppliers for Japan, and we aim to ensure a stable supply from them while supporting their impressive economic growth," he added.
This marks Ishiba's first diplomatic trip outside a multilateral setting since taking office in October. Malaysia is serving as the chair of ASEAN this year, while Indonesia is a member of the Group of 20. Both countries are key players among the emerging nations of the Global South.
The leaders focused on strengthening maritime security cooperation and advancing economic cooperation, with an emphasis on decarbonization initiatives. Japan has been strengthening security ties with Southeast Asian maritime nations, and both Malaysia and Indonesia are recipients of Japan's Official Security Assistance (OSA) initiative, which includes the provision of defense equipment.
Ishiba's visit to Indonesia follows recent developments on bilateral relations. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani met with his Indonesian counterpart on January 7 in Jakarta, agreeing that defense officials from both countries would begin discussions on maritime security cooperation.
Before taking office in October, Prabowo served as defense minister, working to strengthen security ties with Japan. In the summit with Prabowo, Ishiba is expected to pledge the provision of high-speed patrol boats as part of the OSA initiative.
The two leaders will also discuss the joint development of vessels based on Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers.