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Fumio Kishida News

14 Apr 2023

Russia Conducts Surprise Inspection of Its Pacific Naval Fleet

© Tania / Adobe Stock

Russia will conduct missile launches and torpedo tests as part of a surprise inspection of its Pacific naval fleet, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.The drills come amid heightened tension in the Asia-Pacific region, as the United States and South Korea conduct joint air exercises following an intercontinental ballistic missile test by North Korea."The main objective of this inspection is to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to repel the aggression of a probable enemy from the direction of ocean and sea…

15 Mar 2023

China Coast Guard Enters Disputed Waters in East China Sea

(File photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

China's coast guard entered the waters around disputed East China Sea islets on Wednesday to counter what it called the incursion of Japanese vessels into Chinese territorial waters.Disputed East China Sea islets claimed by China and Japan have long been a sticking point in bilateral ties.

01 Jul 2022

Russia's Control of Sakhalin Project Could Pose Upside Risk to LNG Prices

File Photo: Sakhalin Energy

Russia announced on Friday a decree that seizes full control of the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in the country's far east, a move that could force out Shell and Japanese investors and adds another bullish factor to prices in a tight global LNG market.The order, signed on Thursday, creates a new firm to take over all rights and obligations of Sakhalin Energy Investment Co, in which Shell SHEL.L and two Japanese trading companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold just under 50%. Japanese…

20 Dec 2016

A New Maritime Forum?

Japan and Indonesia are planning to establish a new high-level bilateral maritime forum. The Japan-Indonesia Maritime Forum will discuss maritime cooperation., says a report in The Japan News. Under the new framework, Tokyo will support Jakarta’s efforts to protect its maritime sovereignty in the South China Sea and other areas. By deepening cooperation with Indonesia, which has strong influence over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and through multilateral participation, Japan hopes to counter China, which has been building military strongholds in the South China Sea. The forum will comprise meetings of relevant ministers of the two countries and working groups.

12 Aug 2016

Japan, Philippines Negotiate Coast Guard Ships Delivery

Japan and the Philippines have begun talks for the transfer of two large coast guard ships to Manila, to help patrol the disputed South China Sea, a Japanese foreign ministry official said on Friday, as part of a deal on defence equipment. The two brand-new 90-metre (295-ft) multi-role response vessels will be in addition to ten 44-metre (144-ft) mid-sized coast guard ships, worth 8.8 billion pesos ($188.52 million), that Japan is set to start delivering next week. "Both governments are looking into the possibility of getting two more vessels, this time the bigger ones," Masato Ohtaka, deputy spokesman of Japan's foreign ministry, told journalists in Manila.

09 Aug 2016

Japan warns China over East China Sea

Japan summons China envoy twice in five days; rising number of Chinese ships sailing near disputed islands. Japan warned China on Tuesday that ties were deteriorating over disputed East China Sea islets, and China's envoy in Tokyo reiterated Beijing's stance that the specks of land were its territory and called for talks to resolve the dispute. The diplomatic tussle comes amid simmering tension as China builds on outposts in the contested South China Sea, including what appear to be reinforced aircraft hangars, according to new satellite images. Ties between Asia's two largest economies have been strained in recent days since Japan saw a growing number of Chinese coastguard and other government ships sailing near the East China Sea islets, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

26 Jul 2016

China Asks U.S. to Support Resumption of Talks with Philippines

China's foreign minister has asked the U.S. secretary of state John Kerry to support the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea, following a ruling against Beijing over the dispute earlier this month. China did not participate in and has refused to accept the July 12 ruling by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, in which U.S. ally Manila won an emphatic legal victory. Meeting in the Laos capital Vientiane on Monday during a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Kerry that China and ASEAN had agreed the dispute should get back onto the "correct" track of being resolved by direct talks with the parties concerned.

26 Jul 2016

U.S. Backs S. China Sea Bilateral Talks

U.S. Secretary of State Kerry says backs bilateral talks; Philippines says dispute does not involve United States. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he supported the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea, following an international court ruling against Beijing over the dispute earlier this month. China did not participate in and has refused to accept the July 12 ruling by the U.N.-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration, in which U.S. ally Manila won an emphatic legal victory. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi had asked Kerry to lend his support for bilateral talks to restart between Manila and Beijing in a meeting between the two in the Laos capital of Vientiane on Monday.

05 May 2016

Vietnam Asks Japan for Vessels to Strengthen Coastguard

Vietnam has asked Japan to provide vessels to strengthen its coastguard, a Japanese official said on Thursday, in the latest sign of growing ties among the states locked in maritime rows with China. The request emerged during talks between visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, a Japanese spokesman said. "Vietnam wants new vessels," Masato Otaka told reporters, adding that timing, methods of delivery, costs and quantity of vessels had not yet been decided. Vietnam has been modernising its military, and recently bought six advanced Kilo-class submarines from Russia. Russia and India are the main source of advanced weapons, training and intelligence cooperation.

16 Feb 2016

Japan Hardsells Submarine to Australia

Japan has urged Australia to award a contract to build its new $50-billion submarine fleet, reports SMH. Japan, which is offering a variant of its 4,000 ton Soryu submarine, is competing against rival bids from Germany and France for the contract. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has delivered a blunt message to Canberra that only its bid to build Australia's new $50 billion submarine fleet can provide the crucial "strategic" element. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) chief executive Shunichi Miyanaga, the bid leader has warned of the “risk” in retro-fitting a nuclear submarine with a diesel engine as proposed by the French bid, and that scaling up a smaller design would create technical “challenges”, says a report in the Australian.

24 Jan 2016

Iran to Resume Shipping Oil to Japan

The media in Tehran said on Saturday that Japan plans to extend a contract to purchase crude oil from Iran. Shana news agency – affiliated to Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum – has reported that Japan’s contract will be extended until April 2017. It added that the volume of oil that the country will purchase from Iran will also increase from the current level of 110,000 barrels per day. No figure was nevertheless provided on how much this will increase. Japan is one of Iran's biggest oil buyers but its crude imports have nearly halved from 2011 levels before sanctions. Japan has chose to lift its sanctions on Iran after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the country had implemented measures promised under the newly-reached deal on its nuclear programme…

23 Jan 2016

Japan Warns against China's Maritime Activities

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida warned against China's increasing maritime activities, such as artificial land construction in the South China Sea, reports Nikkei. Referring to tensions over China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, Fumio said that Japan will step up efforts to ensure the rule of law for "open and stable seas." He pledged to work for a further improvement of ties with Beijing. "A number of countries have expressed grave concerns about unilateral actions that change the status quo and escalate tensions," Kishida said in a foreign policy address. "Any unilateral attempts, such as land reclamation, to create an accomplished fact cannot be accepted," Kishida said.

16 Apr 2015

G-7 Speaks Out On Chinese Maritime

Meeting of G7 Foreign Ministers in Luebeck, Germany. Picture Courtesy: TACC, Government of Russia

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major nations have warned against “any attempt to assert territorial or maritime claims through the use of intimidation, coercion or force” — a message apparently aimed at China. It is for the first time that G7 has adopted a document focusing on maritime security, giving member Japan new backing in its bid to step up pressure on China over territorial issues. The G-7 statement comes as China is carrying out reclamation work on disputed…

16 Mar 2015

Japan, Vietnam Maritime Security Cooperation

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Vietnamese Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan agreed to continue bilateral efforts to ensure maritime security, underlining the importance of respecting the rule of law. Kishida and Doan also discussed matters related to the South China Sea, the ministry said. The sea is the focus of lingering tensions over territorial rows between China and Southeast Asian countries, notably Vietnam and the Philippines. Kishida was quoted as saying Japan wants to increase cooperation with Vietnam over wide-ranging issues such as maritime security. Japan will help train maritime lecturers for Vietnam under an agreement signed in Hanoi between the Vietnam Maritime Administration and the Seamen’s Employment Center of Japan (SECOJ).

13 Feb 2015

Beijing Must Obey Ruling on Sea Dispute

China has to comply with any ruling on competing territorial claims with the Philippines in the South China Sea even if it will not take part in case before Hague court, opined Philippine judge, reports Bloomberg. Philippine Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio said that it doesn’t matter if China doesn’t appear, if the tribunal finds that there is jurisdiction, the tribunal will proceed. His country doesn’t want anyone, any state to resort to armed force in settling this dispute, he affirmed. Earlier in January 2013, China has refused to participate in the case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that the Philippines brought.

19 Jan 2015

China in Mind, Japan Seeks Maritime Ties with India

apan has pitched for stronger maritime security cooperation with India, to counter an increasingly powerful China. During his visit in India on Saturday Japan's foreign minister Fumio Kishida said that both nations should "proactively" assume responsibilities to ensure "open and stable seas" in the region. His comments are seen as an effort to contain China's growing assertiveness in South China Sea. Kishida said India and Japan have huge interests in the region extending from the Indian Ocean through the South China Sea to the Pacific and both the countries should work jointly under their "special partnership" to ensure maritime security. Under the bridge of open and stable seas, Kishida said India and Japan were maritime countries whose "interests depends on the safety of sea lanes".

11 Jun 2014

Australia, Japan to Pursue Closer Military Tech Ties

Australia and Japan will create a framework pact to cooperate on military technology, the two countries said on Wednesday, a move that could pave the way for Japan to supply stealth submarine designs and components to Australia. The agreement came during talks between Australian Defence Minister David Johnston and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and their Japanese counterparts, Itsunori Onodera and Fumio Kishida, in Tokyo. "Ministers confirmed the substantial conclusion of negotiations on an agreement for cooperation in the field of defence equipment and technology," the countries said in a joint statement. "We see ourselves as natural partners in many ways," Australia's Bishop told reporters after the meetings.