BOGOR, Indonesia — Japan and Indonesia pledged on Saturday to deepen economic and defense ties during a visit by the Japanese prime minister, seen as promoting regional cooperation as China flexes its muscle and Donald Trump prepares to take over as the next U.S. president.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrived in Jakarta on Friday from Kuala Lumpur after meeting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He said he hopes to meet Trump at the earliest possible timing after his Jan. 20 inauguration, and plans to convey the importance of engaging with the region.
“I don’t know how much interest Mr. Trump has in this region until I actually talk with him,” Ishiba told reporters. “I am convinced that having diplomatic engagement in this region is extremely important for Japan, and it is extremely important for America as well.”
Japan wants to send a message that its respect for a rules-based international order, in contrast to China’s more aggressive behavior in claiming islands in the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety, makes it the best partner for Southeast Asian countries.
Ishiba said in a statement on Friday that “any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion is unacceptable anywhere in the world.”
In his meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Bogor presidential palace, just outside Jakarta, Ishiba pledged to support Indonesia’s goal of food and energy self-sufficiency, participate in its defense development and the industrialization of its natural resources, including the strategic mining of minerals, and to provide nutritious meals to Indonesian schoolchildren.
Ishiba also promised to help Indonesia become a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The two sides signed an agreement on a Japanese loan of up to 90.4 billion yen ($573 million) for projects including a new port construction at Patimban to improve Indonesian transportation and distribution systems.
“Indonesia has a desire to maintain good relations with all nations, so that it can contribute to an atmosphere that can reduce tensions between major countries,” Subianto said.
Indonesia has remained on the periphery of the territorial disputes between China and its Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea. It doesn’t have a formal dispute with Beijing though Indonesia said its patrol ships repeatedly drove a Chinese coast guard vessel away from an Indonesian energy company vessel conducting a seismic survey in October.
“Regarding bilateral relations in the field of security, we have agreed to launch discussions between defense officials regarding maritime security from both countries, including engagement in defense equipment technology cooperation,” Ishiba said.
Japan and Indonesia earlier agreed to continue negotiations on the joint development of naval ships and other military equipment and on technology transfer. Japan is unable to export finished frigates or submarines under its current defense guidelines.
Indonesia has pledged to remain nonaligned amid the rivalry between Washington and Beijing but has expressed anxiety over heightening security tensions in the region.
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Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press writers Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
