Japanese PM Ishiba in Vietnam, to visit PH
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba left Tokyo on Sunday for a four-day trip to Vietnam and the Philippines, with Japan aiming to boost security and economic ties to the Southeast Asian nations as China extends its reach in the region.
This is Ishiba’s third visit in Southeast Asia since taking office in October, amid tensions among member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) regarding US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs and an escalation of trade tensions between the United States and China.
“We hope to further strengthen security cooperation” with the two Southeast Asian countries, Ishiba told reporters before departing Haneda airport in Tokyo, highlighting China’s “unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force” in the East and South China seas.
‘Security assistance’
Noting that Trump’s tariffs would have a “large impact” on the economies of both Vietnam and the Philippines, Ishiba also said he plans to hear from Japanese companies operating in the two countries so he can address their concerns and opinions through government policies.
In Hanoi, Ishiba was scheduled to hold a meeting also on Sunday with Vietnamese leader To Lam, general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party. He will also meet Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Monday.
Japan plans to convey its intention to provide Vietnam with defense equipment under its “official security assistance” program launched in 2023 for like-minded partners, according to Japanese government sources.
An outcome document is expected to be released after the talks between Ishiba and Pham which are likely to touch on economic cooperation and setting up a dialogue framework between the two governments’ foreign and defense officials, the sources said.
Manila visit
Ishiba is scheduled in Manila on Tuesday to hold talks with President Marcos. The two leaders expected to agree to start discussions on an intelligence-sharing pact and to hold joint drills by the two countries’ coast guards.
They will also agree to begin negotiations on the exchange of defense supplies and logistical support between the defense forces of Japan and the Philippines, according to the sources.
Japan has been ramping up security ties with Asean nations in recent years as China intensifies its military activities in the resource-rich South China Sea.
Vietnam and the Philippines, along with other members of Asean, have overlapping claims with Beijing, which claims sovereignty over almost the entire maritime area.
‘Increasing uncertainty’
Japan shares concerns over China’s maritime claims, as Chinese coast guard ships have repeatedly entered waters around Tokyo-controlled but uninhabited Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Amid Trump’s tariff moves which have cast uncertainty over the global economic outlook, Chinese President Xi Jinping has recently visited Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, which have been deepening their cooperation with Beijing through its signature Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative.
Many Asean members have been among US trade partners targeted by Trump’s tariffs, with Vietnam facing a so-called reciprocal levy of 46 percent and the Philippines, a US security ally, facing 17 percent.
A reciprocal tariff on Japan, another close US ally, has been set at 24 percent.
The Japanese government aims to increase its commitment to Southeast Asia, which it views as “geopolitically important” and the world’s engine of growth, at a time of “increasing uncertainty” in international affairs, a Foreign Ministry official said.
Ishiba visited Laos in October, his first overseas trip as prime minister, to attend a series of summits related to Asean. He also traveled to Malaysia and Indonesia in January for bilateral talks.
