Japan, ASEAN to boost maritime security ties with eye on China
Dec 17, 2023
Tokyo [Japan], December 17: Southeast Asian and Japanese leaders will agree to boost "maritime security cooperation", according to a draft statement seen by AFP from a summit that kicked off Saturday against the backdrop of growing tensions in the South China Sea. China claims almost the entire waterway, a vital trade corridor, and its increasingly aggressive behavior in disputed areas has riled nations across the region as well as Washington. Close US ally Japan, which also has competing territorial claims with China, is upping its military spending and has already boosted security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, including with South Korea and Australia.
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