Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Saturday just ahead of a three-day special summit between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

At their meeting in the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Kishida told Anwar that Japan hopes to elevate its relations with Malaysia to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

“We hope to work with ASEAN to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law at a time when the world is at a historic turning point,” Kishida added.

The two leaders agreed that Japan will give Malaysia rescue boats and surveillance drones under its security cooperation framework called official security assistance.

Malaysia is the third country set to receive aid under the OSA framework, coming after the Philippines and Bangladesh.

The Japan-ASEAN special summit, which marks the 50 years of their friendship, will open in Tokyo on Saturday night with a dinner session.

Kishida hopes to strengthen cooperation between the two sides in the security field in the face of Beijing’s increasingly coercive actions in the East and South China seas.

He also aims to confirm further efforts to deepen economic relations and people-to-people exchanges. On the sidelines of the summit, he will hold more bilateral meetings with leaders of ASEAN member countries.

After debates on Sunday, summit co-chairs Kishida and Joko Widodo, the Indonesian president, will meet the press to announce a joint statement on Japan-ASEAN cooperation in the areas of economy and security.

JIJI Press