Japan's defence ministry hosts first-ever security meeting with ASEAN

By Channel News Asia's Japan Bureau Chief Michiyo Ishida | Posted: 17 March 2009 1941 hrs

TOKYO: Japan's Defence Ministry has hosted its first-ever security meeting with senior counterparts from ASEAN. This is considered a breakthrough as security issues between Japan and some ASEAN countries have been regarded as highly sensitive because of its wartime past.

Security cooperation was top of the agenda during the meeting. One such area is the fight against piracy in Somalia, where Malaysia and Japan have already deployed their military vessels.

Singapore is planning to send a Landing Ship Tank with two Super Puma helicopters to the Gulf of Aden for three months this year.

On peacekeeping operations, participants called for Japan to be involved in the region's capacity-building efforts.

Japanese Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, Ryota Takeda, said: "Our country would like to further develop cooperative bilateral and multilateral relationships with each member of ASEAN.

"We are also determined to contribute to further development of regional cooperation with major players in the region, including the United States."

Two years ago, Japan upgraded its defence agency to a ministry and for the first time, it positioned international cooperation as one of its major roles.

This new framework is an attempt to show that Japan is willing to take on new security challenges. But the move is viewed as controversial to some countries which have experienced Japan's wartime aggression.

Japan has dismissed speculation that it is hosting the meeting to compete with another superpower in the region, China. The country's defence officials and their ASEAN counterparts are expected to meet regularly under the new framework.

- CNA/so