Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday (March 20)Indonesia will sign a defence pact with Japan next week during President Joko Widodo’s East Asia trip.
Widodo is due to visit Tokyo next week for talks with Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe, and the two sides are expected to sign an agreement to increase bilateral cooperation in military training and technology.
“We are going to cooperate with the peacekeeping center in Japan. Related to the question of whether there will be an exchange of intelligence information, yes, it’s also one of the things that is going to be discussed on this MOU (Memorandum of Understanding),” spokesperson Armanatha Nasir told a weekly briefing.
Other than the security pact, topping the discussion agenda for both countries will be regional security issues like those in the South China Sea between China and a few Southeast Asian nations.
Indonesia, the largest country in Southeast Asia, has been a self-appointed broker in the myriad territorial disputes between its neighbours and China over the resources rich sea.
“Of course the issue of regional peace and stability will be discussed both in Japanand China, because the importance of ensuring that the region continues to benefit from stability and peace, because this is a major factor in the contribution for the region’s economic development,” said Nasir.
“We’re a non-claimant country, but we’re committed to helping ensure that there can be trust within the countries, claimant countries, on this issue. We have pushed for the negotiation through ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in particular, and I think there are (sic: is) certain progress there, whereChina and the other claimants who are ASEAN members have been discussing this issue,” he added.
Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan claim parts of the waters that are crossed by key global shipping lanes. Although China has said it is willing to discuss the issues on a bilateral level, all propositions by claimants within the regional ASEAN bloc to do so on a multilateral level have been rejected.
China recently started reclamation work on reefs, aerial surveillance photos shows, which has sparked further regional concern and escalated the dispute.
Widodo is due to visit China after his trip to Japan.
Reuters