TOKYO: Japan on Wednesday called for stronger
security ties with Southeast Asia as Tokyo looks to boost alliances
at a time of growing territorial tensions with China.
Vice-minister level representatives from Japan and the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began a two-day
gathering at a Tokyo hotel, with several participating nations
embroiled in sovereignty rows with Beijing.
"The Asia-Pacific region has various issues concerning security and
defence... including territorial conflicts in the South China Sea,"
Vice Defence Minister Akinori Eto told the opening session of the
closed-door meeting.
"On top of the growing maturity of our economic cooperation, Japan
and ASEAN need to further strengthen ties in the field of security
and defence," Eto said.
The meeting is the first high-ranking defence dialogue of its kind
since hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office late
December following a landslide victory in general elections.
"Our country changed governments late last year," Eto said, "Under
the new regime, we want to reinforce cooperation in security and
defence with ASEAN countries and contribute to peace in the
region," he added.
Ahead of the meeting, the ASEAN participants met Abe late Tuesday
and voiced their high expectations from Japan "in dealing with
various security issues of the Asia-Pacific region," the defence
ministry said in a statement.
Japan, along with several members of ASEAN have locked horns with
China over separate territorial disputes.
Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have deteriorated badly over
the last year as the two sides argued about the sovereignty of
Tokyo-controlled islands in the East China Sea.
On Tuesday, three Chinese government ships spent several hours in
the 12-nautical-mile territorial zone off one of the Senkaku
islands, claimed by Beijing under the name Diaoyus. Taiwan also
claims them.
ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as
well as China and Taiwan, have claims to parts of the South China
Sea, which contains some of the world's most important shipping
lanes and is believed to be rich in fossil fuels.
Simmering tensions over the issue have risen in the past two years,
with the Philippines and Vietnam accusing China of becoming
increasingly aggressive.
China claims most of the sea, including waters close to the shores
of its neighbours.
Relations between the Philippines and China have become
particularly tense since patrol vessels from both countries engaged
in a stand-off over the Scarborough Shoal in April.
Analysts said China's recent prickliness meant regional alliances
made sense.
"Japan and ASEAN can regard security cooperation as a realistic
option because China is their common adversary," said Hideshi
Takesada, a Japanese defence expert and former professor at South
Korea's Yonsei University.
"Practically, Japan can provide defence technologies or equipment
to ASEAN so that Japan can win their trust," said Takesada, who is
also former professor at Japan's National Institute for Defence
Studies.
Japan reportedly plans to donate patrol boats worth more than US$10
million each to the Philippines, ramping up regional efforts to
monitor China's maritime activity in disputed waters.
The Japanese government plans to finance the deal in its fiscal
2013 budget starting in April and hopes to officially sign it early
next year, the Nikkei business daily reported last month.
- AFP/fa/fl
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this is good news for countries that have no money for weapons
and U.S. arms industry.