It is believed that Japan and Indonesia held ministerial talks on foreign affairs and defense, shared concerns about China, which is strengthening its marine expansion, and confirmed cooperation toward the realization of a "free and open Indo-Pacific."
This is the second ministerial meeting between Japan and Indonesia for foreign affairs and defense, so-called 2 plus 2, with the participation of Foreign Minister Motegi and Defense Minister Kishi from the Japanese side, and Foreign Minister Lutono and Defense Minister Prabowo from the Indonesian side. It was done for an hour and a half.
At the beginning of the talks, Minister Motegi said, "The world security environment is changing drastically, and attempts to unilaterally change the status quo against the background of power, etc., keeping in mind that China is strengthening its expansion into the East China Sea and South China Sea. Of course, the premise that has supported the peace and prosperity of the international community can no longer be seen. We would like to raise the wide-ranging cooperation between Japan and Indonesia, including the security field, to a higher level. "
In addition, Minister Kishi also said that China enforced the "Maritime Police Law" that allowed the use of weapons to the China Coast Guard. It must not undermine the legitimate interests of the countries concerned, including Indonesia. It is important for the two countries to work together in this harsh security environment. "
The talks shared concerns about the current situation in which China is strengthening its marine expansion, and confirmed its policy of strengthening cooperation with Southeast Asian countries toward the realization of a "free and open Indo-Pacific." Can be done.
On top of that, it seems that they agreed to strengthen multilateral joint training including the Self-Defense Forces and the Indonesian Armed Forces, support for improving the capacity of Indonesia's coast guard, and promote the development of remote islands in the South China Sea.
In addition, they shared concerns about the increasing number of civilian casualties protesting the military coup over the situation in Myanmar, and it seems that they also exchanged opinions on how to respond to North Korea, which launched ballistic missiles. ..
After the talks, Minister Motegi and Defense Minister Prabowo signed an agreement to promote the transfer of defense equipment and technical cooperation to strengthen security cooperation.