Japan Embarks on Unfamiliar Path In Southeast Asia to Contain China

File image of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Image: Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida kicks off state visits to the Philippines and Malaysia on Friday in a move to project a more forceful image in a region where China is growing increasingly assertive.

Kishida will meet with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, address the Philippine parliament, and lay the groundwork for a new security agreement with Manila, as it’s involved in an increasingly tense standoff with China over disputed territory in the South China Sea.

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by Cobus van Staden

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