According to Yoshihide Sugi, this union “will be the foundation for peace, prosperity and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region”.
Japan’s new Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, considers the alliance with the United States to be the basis of his foreign policy and intends to build on it to develop relations with the neighbouring countries. He said this on Monday during his first keynote speech in Parliament, which was broadcast on national public television.
“The alliance with the USA is the main axis of our diplomacy and security policy”, – the prime minister said. – “It will be the basis for peace, prosperity and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region.”
As the main goal of his foreign policy, Prime Minister Suga pointed out “to build a law of free and open Indo-Pacific region based on the rule of law in cooperation with countries that share common values with us. In addition to the USA, he has included the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, India and the European Union in this category.
The Prime Minister called Japan’s relations with the People’s Republic of China extremely important for the region and the global community.
“Using high-level contacts”, – he said, – “we will cooperate with China on common problems and at the same time defend what we should defend in our relations with China. Previously, Tokyo has repeatedly accused Beijing of the opacity of its military programmes and protested against Chinese claims to the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu) under Tokyo’s control.”
In his speech, the Japanese prime minister also expressed his willingness to meet with DPRK leader Kim Jong-un in person without preconditions. However, Suga emphasised the need to solve problems related, in particular, to Pyongyang’s nuclear missile programme.