Japan-ASEAN Relations
ASEAN-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
July 26, 2024
On July 26, commencing at 10:00 am. local time (12:00 noon, JST) for about 70 minutes, the ASEAN-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in Vientiane, the capital of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, attended the meeting. The meeting was co-chaired by Minister Kamikawa and Thai Foreign Minister Maris.
1 Review of ASEAN-Japan Cooperation and its Future Direction
- Minister Kamikawa made the following remarks on ASEAN-Japan cooperation.
First, she mentioned that last year marked the historic milestone of the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, and that Japan and ASEAN jointly set out a new vision for cooperation as "Trusted Partners" at the Commemorative Summit in Tokyo last December.
She also emphasized that this vision is “for a world where the shared principles and values of the international community are ensured, and where all countries can pursue peace and prosperity and uphold the principles of democracy, the rule of law and good governance, and respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. She also stressed that this shared vision serves as our guiding principle in the face of complex and compounding global challenges.
Minister Kamikawa then gave the following examples to illustrate that broad cooperation is steadily progressing in line with the three pillars of the Joint Vision Statement.
(i) “Heart-to-Heart Partners across Generation”
Japan launched a comprehensive people-to-people exchange program called “Partnership to Co-create a Future with the Next Generation: WA Project 2.0” and will dispatch 200 “NIHONGO Partners” to ASEAN Member States in this fiscal year.
(ii) “Partners for Co-creation of Economy and Society of the Future”
Under the “Japan-ASEAN Comprehensive Connectivity Initiative” launched last year, Japan will contribute to ASEAN’s efforts to enhance connectivity in a wide range of areas, including transport infrastructure development as well as electricity connectivity and human and knowledge connectivity. In addition, Japan has appointed officials in charge of crossborder economic affairs at the relevant diplomatic missions to strongly encourage Japanese companies to play a role in promoting intra-regional trade in ASEAN.
(iii) “Partners for Peace and Stability.”
Japan would like to further strengthen security and maritime cooperation with ASEAN by conducting training on cybersecurity and maritime law, and enhancing maritime law enforcement capabilities through means such as providing patrol vessels.
Regarding WPS, Minister Kamikawa attended a dialogue event with Minister Retno during her visit to Japan last December. Following that, ERIA and the ASEAN- IPR initiated a joint 2 / 2 study on WPS in June, and a seminar was held among defense authorities.
Japan would like to continue to focus on WPS cooperation with ASEAN. - The Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States expressed high appreciation for the outcomes of last year's Commemorative Summit and welcomed the steady progress in concrete cooperation in line with the implementation plan of the Joint Vision Statement, and also expressed high expectations for further strengthening cooperation with Japan, especially in new areas such as DX and GX.
- Minister Kamikawa responded that Japan will strengthen cooperation in line with the Joint Vision Statement and focusing on areas in which ASEAN countries has expressed interest. In this regard, regarding human resource development and exchange for DX, she stated that Japan would like to work with ASEAN to develop 100,000 highly skilled digital human resources over the next five years to promote innovation in AI and other areas. She also stated that climate change is a challenge that cannot wait, and that she hopes to boost ASEAN's decarbonization through the efforts of GX, especially AZEC, and together create a large decarbonization market in Asia.
2 Regional and international issues
- The Foreign Ministers of ASEAN countries spoke on the importance of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, the importance of peaceful resolution of disputes based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the importance of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and resolution of the abduction issue.
- In response, Minister Kamikawa explained Japan's position on the situation in Myanmar, the situation in the East and South China Sea, response to North Korea including its nuclear and missile issues and the abduction issue, Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and the situation in the Middle East. In particular, she stated that any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force is unacceptable anywhere in the world from the perspective of emphasizing the importance of the international order based on the rule of law.
She further stated that Japan will continue to support ASEAN's centrality and unity and strongly encourage the mainstreaming and implementation of the AOIP, which shares essential principles with the FOIP. By doing so, she stated that she would like to work with ASEAN countries to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on respect for human dignity and the rule of law.