Japan to Boost Maritime Security Cooperation with Malaysia

Jiji Press

12:32 JST, May 24, 2024

Tokyo, May 23 (Jiji Press) — Meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Tokyo on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his willingness to strengthen bilateral cooperation on maritime security in view of China’s hegemonic moves in the South China Sea.

In reply, Anwar said he hopes to push forward cooperation between the two countries in wide-ranging fields including building Malaysia’s military capability.

He made the remark in light of a bilateral agreement signed on the sidelines of the two leaders’ summit last December that Japan will provide under its official security assistance program rescue boats and other equipment for monitoring and surveillance activities to the Malaysian forces.

During the meeting at the prime minister’s office, Kishida also told Anwar about his plan to step up joint efforts between Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur for decarbonizing Southeast Asia.