TOKYO – Japan has much to contribute to regional security, and Singapore is happy to deepen cooperation with Tokyo to promote peace and stability, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Dec 17. This includes welcoming Japan Self-Defence Forces aircraft and vessels to stopover and make port calls in Singapore, he said. PM Lee was speaking at a commemorative summit.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has built relations of trust with Japan and generally welcome it playing a bigger security role in the region, amid China's rising assertiveness in the South China Sea.
Over the past 50 years, the relationship between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan has grown comprehensively and deeply across all fields, from politics, security, economy and investment to culture, society, and development cooperation.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's gamble to replace all ministers from the largest faction within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party over a political fundraising scandal could make it more difficult for him to manage the government.