Maritime Security
Foreign Minister MOTEGI’s attendance at the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting “Reinforcing Maritime Cooperation to Achieve a Secure and Stable Maritime Domain”
September 23, 2026
On September 23 (local time), Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting New York, U.S., attended the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting: “Reinforcing Maritime Cooperation to Achieve a Secure and Stable Maritime Domain”.
- This meeting was co-chaired by Japan, Estonia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Canada the EU, and Bahrain, and participated by 53 countries and organizations including foreign ministers.
- Minister MOTEGI stated that Japan has been promoting the updated “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP),” and one of its pillars is maintaining and promoting a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law.
- Minister MOTEGI stated that compliance with international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is of paramount importance in the current international climate. He reiterated opposition to the continued and intensified unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and emphasized the importance of the adherence to the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award between the Philippines and China by the parties to the dispute, marking the tenth anniversary of the Award.
- Regarding the situation in the Middle East, Minister MOTEGI stated that it is utmost important to recover free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. With respect to the Strait of Hormuz, he then highlighted that no additional costs can be accepted, and that the future of the Strait should be discussed with the entire international community including the coastal states, user states, and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
- Furthermore, Minister MOTEGI emphasized the importance of ensuring Ukraine’s grain exports through free navigation in the Black Sea and stated the importance of jointly addressing challenges on the protection of undersea cables, with the international community.
- Participants provided explanations of their respective efforts, and concurred to continue to work closely together toward the security and stability at sea. In particular, many countries expressed support for the restoration of free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and for the need of discussion on the future of the Strait of Hormuz by the international community as a whole.