Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled his country’s plans to invest billions in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region during his visit to India. The plans are part of Tokyo’s efforts to forge stronger ties in the region to counter the growing influence of China.
Kishida on Monday announced a plan to invest $75 billion in the Indo-Pacific region during a visit to India and meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. Kishida also said Japan wanted to end Russia’s war in Ukraine as soon as possible while calling on the “Global South,” referring to countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America, to “show solidarity” following talks with Modi.
Kishida said there were four “pillars” to Tokyo’s Indo-Pacific strategy which include maintaining peace, dealing with global issues in cooperation with countries in the Indo-Pacific, global connectivity in many platforms, and ensuring the safety of open seas and skies. Japan has pledged $75 billion to the region by 2030 through private investment and yen loans and increasing aid through governmental assistance and grants.
“We plan to expand the cooperation of the free and open Indo-Pacific framework,” Kishida told the Indian Council of World Affairs during his visit. Kishida stressed the growing connectivity between countries and the importance of freedom of navigation, with a focus on increased maritime defense and security among countries.
“The kind of connectivity where you only rely on one country breeds political vulnerability,” said Kishida. “We aim to increase the number of options each country has so that they can overcome these vulnerabilities and achieve further economic growth through connectivity.”
Kishida also said that another part of the plan would include having joint maritime drills with India and the United States, along with “goodwill exercises” with the ASEAN regional bloc and the Pacific Islands.
The Japanese foreign ministry on Tuesday said Kishida is set to visit Ukraine for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The ministry said in a statement that Kishida would voice support and solidarity with Kyiv following Russia’s invasion in February last year. Kishida will be showing “his respect for the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people standing up to defend their homeland.”
Japan is set to host the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May, and Kishida has said the summit should demonstrate the determination to uphold international law as a response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.