TOKYO: Japanese defense forces will participate for the first time in military exercises in Indonesia next month alongside the United States and Australia, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday after talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Japan’s involvement comes as Washington and its regional allies step up efforts to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
Japan has recently been putting heavy diplomatic emphasis on maintaining a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” and Kishida visited the region, including Indonesia, earlier this year.
The meeting between Kishida and Jokowi, as he is popularly known, came a day after the Indonesian president made a rare visit to China for a summit with President Xi Jinping in which the two pledged to scale up trade and expand cooperation in areas such as agriculture and food security.
“Indonesia shares fundamental values with us as well as strategic goals, it is a strategic partner,” Kishida told a news conference after the two met.
He said Japan’s Self-Defense Forces will take part in the Garuda Shield joint military exercises to be held in Indonesia from Aug. 1 with the United States, Australia and others. It will be the first time that Japan has participated.
The annual exercises, typically between Indonesia and the United States, will be “significantly larger in scope and scale” than in previous years, the United States has said.
Japan also would loan the Indonesian government 43.6 billion yen ($318 million) for infrastructure projects and disaster prevention, Kishida said, along with cooperating in areas including energy.
In his remarks, Jokowi emphasised practical aspects of bilateral ties and mentioned that the two nations had agreed to changes in an Indonesia-Japan economic partnership agreement to be signed later this year, although he did not specify details.
Renegotiations on the agreement, concluded in 2007, are aimed at expanding access to Japanese markets and reducing tariffs.
“I ask for Japan to support the reduction of tariffs on some products such as tuna, bananas, pineapple, and market access to mango products,” Jokowi said.
Indonesia’s imports from Japan totalled $9.2 billion in 2020, while its exports to Japan stood at $14.5 billion, according to IMF data compiled by Refinitiv.
Indonesia’s economics ministry said on Wednesday that Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. plans to invest 27.1 trillion rupiah ($1.8 billion) in Indonesia in the next five years to produce electric vehicles.
On Tuesday, Indonesia’s chief economics minister said Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to invest about 10 trillion rupiah in Indonesia between 2022 and 2025.
Jokowi will meet Emperor Naruhito later on Wednesday.
Japan to join ‘Garuda Shield’ military drills for first time
https://arab.news/wh4sh
Japan to join ‘Garuda Shield’ military drills for first time
- Japan’s involvement comes as Washington and its regional allies step up efforts to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region
Kremlin says Putin is mediating in Iran to normalize situation
- Putin had then been briefed by Pezeshkian in a separate call on what the Kremlin called Tehran’s “sustained efforts” to normalize the situation inside Iran
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin is mediating in the Iran situation to quickly de-escalate tensions, the Kremlin said on Friday, after the Russian leader spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Moscow has condemned US threats of new military strikes after Iran acted against protests that broke out late last month.
Putin in his call with Netanyahu expressed Russia’s willingness to “continue its mediation efforts and to promote constructive dialogue with the participation of all interested states,” the Kremlin said, adding he had set out his ideas for boosting stability in the Middle East.
No further details were given on Putin’s mediation attempt.
Putin had then been briefed by Pezeshkian in a separate call on what the Kremlin called Tehran’s “sustained efforts” to normalize the situation inside Iran.
“It was noted that Russia and Iran unanimously and consistently support de-escalating
the tensions — both surrounding Iran and in the region as a whole — as soon as possible
and resolving any emerging issues through exclusively political and diplomatic means,” the Kremlin said.
Putin and Pezeshkian had confirmed their commitment to their countries’ strategic partnership and to implementing joint economic projects, the Kremlin added.
Separately, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which includes Russia, China, India, and Iran, among others, said it opposed external interference in Iran and blamed Western sanctions for creating conditions for unrest.
“Unilateral sanctions have had a significant negative impact on the economic stability of the state, led to a deterioration in people’s living conditions, and objectively limited the ability of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to implement measures to ensure the country’s socio-economic development,” the SCO said in a statement.
Protests erupted on Dec. 28 over soaring inflation in Iran, whose economy has been crippled by sanctions.
Asked what support Russia could provide to Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Russia is already providing assistance not only to Iran but also to the entire region, and to the cause of regional stability and peace. This is partly thanks to the president’s efforts to help de-escalate tensions.”
The US Treasury on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Iranian officials, including Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security.
