BRUSSELS: Japan’s foreign minister attended a regular meeting of European Union foreign ministers for the first time on Monday, at a time when China is increasing its economic and military presence.

Japanese Foreign Minister MOTEGI Toshimitsu joined the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting online, at the request of the EU side.

The EU is alarmed by China’s growing influence in Europe, including through its Belt and Road initiative, and on the other hand increasingly interested in potential economic growth in the Indo-Pacific region.

According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Motegi pointed out at the meeting that there are various challenges in the Indo-Pacific region including those to the security situations in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, as well as to democracy and human rights. He also cited external debt issues in developing countries.

To realize the Japan-backed Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, Motegi called for advancing Japan-EU cooperation, including in the fields of promoting the international community’s basic principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law and strengthening regional connectivity.

Many participants from the EU side expressed understanding of the importance of rule-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region, and also voiced support for Japan’s efforts to resolve the issue of Japanese abductees in North Korea as soon as possible.

Motegi and EU foreign ministers agreed that they will cooperate with the United States and other allies on climate change and other issues.

JIJI Press