 |
| Image courtesy- Wikimedia commons and the author |
TOKYO -- Japan and the U.S. will likely agree to enhance cooperation in supporting Southeast Asian nations in sea surveillance and other areas when their leaders meet later this month.
U.S. President Barack Obama is slated to visit Japan from April 23-25, with a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe likely to be set up on April 24.
Obama will use the first leg of his Asian tour, which will also take him to South Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia, as an opportunity to keep a check on China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.
The two leaders will seek to work closely to address security concerns among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines and Vietnam, for instance, are at loggerheads with China over claims on islands in the South China Sea. Japan has decided to provide 10 patrol vessels to the Philippines. Now, the U.S. and Japan are both considering providing patrol vessels to Vietnam.
Disaster relief is another area in which the two nations seek to strengthen joint support. They will build on the collaboration between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military after a typhoon in the Philippines last year.
Obama decided to extend his stay in Japan from the originally planned two days, based on a request from Japan, which sought to host him as a state guest.
(Nikkei)
Original link to the article: http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Japan-US-to-help-Southeast-Asia-with-maritime-security
Comments