Tokyo, 3 August 2021 (TDI): On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on the importance of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Where four of the ten ASEAN members (Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, including Taiwan) have overlapping territorial claims with China in the sea.
It is where the oil imports from Japan pass much on the South China Sea. Thus, stressing its opposition to unilaterally change the status quo of the Indo-Pacific. Toshimitsu Motegi stressed the importance of maintaining and strengthening the principles of the rule of law, as well as transparency in the region.
In addition, Japan supports ASEAN’s five-point plan on Myanmar. And as Motegi acknowledged the coronavirus pandemic situation, it discussed their joint response. For instance, Japan’s aid of their vaccine doses and health care system to the ASEAN countries. So far, 9.6 million vaccine doses have been offered to ASEAN.
