Indonesia and Japan promise deeper defense and economic ties as regional tensions spike
Japan and Indonesia have pledged to deepen economic and defense ties during a visit by the Japanese prime minister
BOGOR, Indonesia — Japan and Indonesia pledged on Saturday to deepen economic and defense ties during a visit by the Japanese prime minister, seen as promoting regional cooperation as China flexes its muscle and Donald Trump prepares to take over as the next U.S. president.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrived in Jakarta on Friday from Kuala Lumpur after meeting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He said he hopes to meet Trump at the earliest possible timing after his Jan. 20 inauguration, and plans to convey the importance of engaging with the region.
“I don’t know how much interest Mr. Trump has in this region until I actually talk with him,” Ishiba told reporters. “I am convinced that having diplomatic engagement in this region is extremely important for Japan, and it is extremely important for America as well.”
Japan wants to send a message that its respect for a rules-based international order, in contrast to China’s more aggressive behavior in claiming islands in the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety, makes it the best partner for Southeast Asian countries.
Ishiba said in a statement on Friday that “any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion is unacceptable anywhere in the world.”
In his meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Bogor presidential palace, just outside Jakarta, Ishiba pledged to support Indonesia's goal of food and energy self-sufficiency, participate in its defense development and the industrialization of its natural resources, including the strategic mining of minerals, and to provide
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