Indonesia, Japan to deepen defence ties amid China challenge
Abe says their two island nations gave maritime cooperation the ‘highest priority’
Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate on maritime security and deepen defence ties, as both nations feud with China over sea territory.
Abe – in Indonesia on a regional tour that has taken in Australia and the Philippines and will include Vietnam – said their two island nations gave maritime cooperation the “highest priority”.
“Japan will actively encourage cooperation on maritime security and encourage the development of the remote islands of Indonesia,” he said through a translator at the presidential palace in Bogor.
Last month Tokyo and Jakarta unveiled an agreement aimed in part at strengthening Indonesia’s ability to defend its vast marine borders.
Indonesia has no argument with China over ownership of reefs or islets in the disputed South China Sea. But Beijing’s expansive claims overlap with Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone – waters where a state has the right to exploit resources – around the Natuna islands.
