Arab News Dubai

Japan’s defense minister has pledged his country’s commitment to helping ease Middle East tensions and bringing stability to the region.

Addressing the Middle East’s premier security summit, Taro Kono said Japan would continue its diplomatic efforts to secure a peaceful resolution to ongoing challenges including the maritime safety of international shipping.

“Moreover, in an effort to reinforce our information-gathering capabilities, Japan has started to consider how we can best utilize the asset of the Japan Self-Defense Forces as our independent effort,” he told a plenary session on maritime security in the Middle East, during the 15th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Saturday.

Kono said Japan’s aim was not only to contribute to ensuring the safety of Japanese shipping interests, but also to secure peace and stability in the region.

“(Japanese) Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe and I, as the foreign minister, visited Iran in June this year, and met President (Hassan) Rouhani and Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei,” he said.

The minister highlighted how Japan’s engagement with the region was shaped by the evolving security challenges. “There have been incidents that cannot be overlooked when considering the maritime security of the Middle East,” Kono added.

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He also pointed to Japan’s vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific which was grounded on the country’s guiding principles for international cooperation. “In pursuing this vision, Japan will continue to strive for the security of the Indo-Pacific maritime order and broader international order, based on the rule of law.

“I firmly believe that the peace and stability of the Middle East region is directly linked to the peace and economic prosperity of the world, including that of Japan, and there is a unique role that Japan can play to contribute to this region.”

Kono said that the Middle East was a hub for global commerce and trade and the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil. “In this region are significant maritime choke points that are critically important, namely the Suez Canal, Strait of Hormuz, and Bab Al-Mandeb Strait.

“Reliance on maritime transportation of the Middle East is particularly notable when it comes to oil import. As such, it is no exaggeration to state that Japan enjoys stable economic activity over 8,000 kilometers away from Manama precisely because of the security of the Middle East region.”

He emphasized that Japan was acutely aware of the utmost importance of maintaining a stable maritime security situation in the Middle East that would continue to foster global economic growth and prosperity.

Two Japanese patrol aircraft and a destroyer were currently on duty as part of the counter-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden. “We recognize the ongoing importance of maritime security here in the Middle East, even in view of passing security challenges closer to home,” Kono added.

Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the commander of US Central Command, and Abdulkadir Abdi Hashi, Somalia’s minister of state for foreign affairs, were also part of the session’s panel.