Tokyo, 11 October, /AJMEDIA/
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering visiting the Philippines and Malaysia in early November, around one month ahead of hosting a special summit involving ASEAN leaders, a government source said Tuesday.
During the planned three-day trip from Nov 3, Kishida is expected to hold bilateral talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, respectively, amid China’s growing assertiveness in the region, the source said.
Manila, Kuala Lumpur and some other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have overlapping territorial claims with Beijing in the South China Sea, and recently Japan has been trying to bolster security cooperation with the Philippines and Malaysia.
If realized, Kishida will visit the two Southeast Asian countries for the first time since taking office in October 2021.
For three days from Dec 16, Kishida is scheduled to preside over a gathering in Tokyo that is to be attended by Marcos, Anwar and other leaders from the 10-member ASEAN to commemorate the 50 years of friendship and cooperation between Japan and the regional bloc.
ASEAN also groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
