JAKARTA: Japan will give Indonesia two high-speed patrol boats, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated Saturday (Jan 11), as Tokyo seeks to spice up regional maritime safety cooperation within the face of rising assertiveness by China.
Ishiba made the pledge throughout a go to to Jakarta, the place he held talks with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on a spread of bilateral points.
“We agreed on establishing working-level defence consultations on our maritime safety, together with on defence tools technical cooperation,” Ishiba was quoted as saying in a joint assertion.
“We additionally agreed to … present high-speed patrol boats by Official Safety Help, which might be our first with Indonesia.”
He stated the 2 international locations additionally agreed to cooperate in decarbonised power sectors, similar to geothermal energy, hydrogen, ammonia, and biofuels.
Earlier than arriving in Jakarta, Ishiba held talks in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“For our overseas coverage, strengthening cooperation with Southeast Asia is likely one of the largest priorities,” Ishiba stated.
With US encouragement because it seeks to counter China, Japan has been deepening safety ties within the area.
Beijing claims virtually all the South China Sea, which has angered neighbouring international locations that dispute some boundaries they are saying minimize into their unique financial zones.
Tokyo is already offering tools and different help to the Philippines, which is engaged in territorial disputes with Beijing.
Final 12 months the Philippines ratified a key defence pact with Japan, which permits them to deploy troops on one another’s soil.
The go to to Malaysia and Indonesia marks Ishiba’s first official state go to since taking workplace in October.
