Japan’s new Prime Minister Kan Yoshihide will begin a four-day visit to Vietnam and Indonesia on October 18, his first trip to Japan since becoming Prime Minister on September 16. In the midst of ongoing U.S.-China confrontation over the situation in the South China Sea, trade, and human rights issues, Kan’s visit will aim to strengthen Japan’s cooperation with Southeast Asian countries in order to maintain stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato made the official announcement on Friday (Oct. 16). Vietnam is the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN-10), and Indonesia is the largest economy among ASEAN member countries and a member of the Group of 20 (G-20).
Kan served as Chief Cabinet Secretary to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for many years and has extensive domestic policy experience. However, his resume lacks a diplomatic background, so the choice of Southeast Asian countries for his first trip is seen as following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Shinzo Abe.
Abe’s first foreign trip after his second term as prime minister in December 2012 was to Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand in January 2013. However, Abe originally planned to visit the United States in late January, but the U.S. side was unable to allow sufficient time for the summit meeting due to, among other things, then-President Barack Obama’s inauguration for his second term on Jan. 21, so Abe adjusted his plans.
A visit to Washington, D.C., is considered one of the top priorities of the new Japanese prime minister, and has been a common practice since almost 1945. However, was the timing of Kan’s first visit to a Southeast Asian country a coincidence, or was it a coincidence that he chose a Southeast Asian country in a break with the “usual” practice? Former Japanese career diplomat Kunihiko Miyake, a special advisor to Prime Minister Kan Yoshihide, wrote a personal opinion piece in The Japan Times on October 15.
He argues that Kan’s first trip to Southeast Asia comes at an opportune time, as the relationship between Vietnam, Indonesia and the United States is changing positively.
During Kan’s visit to Jakarta, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto will make a working visit to the United States from October 15 to 19 at the invitation of U.S. Defense Secretary Jesper, according to Kunihiko Miyake.
He believes that Subianto’s visit to Washington is particularly important. According to information, Subianto has been denied entry to the United States twice in the past 20 years for alleged human rights violations. And Washington now seems willing to overlook Subianto’s past problems in order to advance closer bilateral defense cooperation between the United States and Indonesia.
And the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs held a videoconference with Vietnam’s Vice Foreign Minister on September 23 to “discuss bilateral security cooperation in the 11th U.S.-Vietnam Political, Security, and Defense Dialogue.
According to Kunihiko Miyake, the positive interaction between the United States and Indonesia and Vietnam should be seen as part of a series of U.S. efforts to strengthen defense relations with ASEAN member countries.
In addition, the acting undersecretary of defense for policy issues visited Singapore last month and co-chaired the 11th U.S.-Singapore Strategic Security Policy Dialogue with Singapore’s deputy defense minister. Last year, the two countries extended the 1990 defense agreement for 15 years, until 2035. According to Kunihiko Miyake, U.S. actions in three countries in the Asia-Pacific region make it likely that Washington’s efforts in the region will continue. Therefore, he believes that the choice of Vietnam and Indonesia for Japanese Prime Minister Kan’s first trip is well-timed.
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