Editorial: Komeito secures diplomatic gains in Southeast Asia
August 28 , 2023
Before leaving on a nine-day visit to the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam earlier this month, Komeito Chief Representative Natsuo Yamaguchi shared his desire for his party to play a larger, more meaningful role in promoting peace through dialogues with other countries.Given this, the latest visit proved fruitful: In meeting with the top leaders and officials of the three ASEAN member-states, Yamaguchi found common cause in a free and open international order based on the rule of law. He also secured agreement on the need to persist in the pursuit of dialogue to settle transnational conflict.
In keeping with these themes, the Komeito leader underscored the importance of maritime security. While the sea lanes of the Indo-Pacific oceans are vital to the global and regional economies, they are also flashpoints of clashing national interests.
The key to maintaining maritime security is to rely on police action over military enforcement. If the latter is employed, any dispute could provoke the use of arms, even a full-blown war. A police action by a coast guard is far less provocative and keeps open possibilities of a peaceful resolution to a clash.
In order to maintain an effective coast guard, the force must not only be properly equipped, it must also be familiar with the intricacies of international law and its enforcement. These are areas that the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency has built up a substantial knowledge base and continues to extend its expertise—with the active backing of Komeito—in support of countries of Southeast Asia to this day.
In recent years, the economies of the ten-member ASEAN have grown significantly, making the region an open growth center. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of cooperative ties between ASEAN and Japan. Given this relationship—and the successes that it has yielded over the years—Komeito is committed to forging even stronger bonds of regional cooperation through its own brand of diplomacy going forward.
