Japan highly values ASEAN’s centrality in ensuring regional security
(VOVWORLD) - Japan’s Minister of Defence Kishi Nobuo insisted on the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in maintaining peace, stability and ensuring security in the region.
 Japan’s Minister of Defence Kishi Nobuo. (File photo: AFP/VNA) |
Kishi told the ongoing Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore that as ASEAN is located at the intersection of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, it plays an inseparable role in realizing the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) vision that Japan is pursuing.
He emphasized that in the absence of an inclusive framework in the Indo-Pacific region, strengthening international law through the cooperation mechanisms that ASEAN plays central roles such as ASEAN-Japan, ASEAN+3, and East Asia Summit (EAS) are indispensable for FOIP implementation.
He said that the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) and the cooperation mechanism between the US, Japan, Australia, and India are extremely important for consolidating regional security.