SHAFAQNA- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has built relations of trust with Japan and generally welcome it playing a bigger security role in the region, amid China’s rising assertiveness in the South China Sea.
The ASEAN members, however, are navigating a delicate balance in their ties with Japan and China, taking into account Beijing’s stronger economic influence in Southeast Asia, while vigilantly watching the competition for regional clout between China and the United States, experts said.
Trust between ASEAN and Japan has long been cultivated through Tokyo’s efforts to foster amicable relations with the peoples of the region, especially since 1977 when then Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda announced the principles of Japan’s ASEAN diplomacy, said Bilahari Kausikan, a former permanent secretary of Singapore’s Foreign Ministry.
Source: JapanToday