Japan has announced a new plan to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, promising billions of dollars in investment to help economies across the region. The plan aims to strengthen ties with countries in South and Southeast Asia to counter China’s increasing aggression. Japan pledged $75 billion to the region by 2030 via private investment and yen loans, official governmental assistance, and grants. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, ensuring safety of the open seas and skies, achieving global connectivity through various platforms, and dealing with new global issues in cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries. Japan plans to expand the cooperation of the free and open Indo-Pacific framework and increase maritime defense and security among like-minded countries. Japan also plans to conduct joint maritime exercises with India and the United States and goodwill exercises with ASEAN and the Pacific Islands. The four members of the Quad grouping created to balance China’s growing dominance will participate in the annual naval wargaming exercise Malabar to be held in Australia this year.
Japan invests $75 billion in Indo-Pacific as a response to China.
