Rules-based order crucial amid Ukraine crisis, Kishida tells Indonesian leader

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida underscored the importance of upholding the rules-based international order amid China’s growing assertiveness and the Russian invasion of Ukraine as he met Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Friday on the first stop of his trip to Southeast Asia and Europe.

Japan views Indonesia, this year’s host of the Group of 20 major economies’ summit to be held in November and a key economy in Southeast Asia, as a strategic partner sharing universal values such as democracy and the rule of law. Russia and China are both members of the G20.

“We are facing many challenges including the situations in Ukraine, the East and South China seas and North Korea. Under such circumstances, maintaining and strengthening the rules-based, free and open international order has become more important,” said Kishida in the meeting with the president.

The eight-day tour will also take Kishida to Vietnam, Thailand, Italy and Britain. He is scheduled to return to Japan on May 6.

In Southeast Asia, he aims to strengthen cooperation with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations toward realizing a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”

With Japan and other Group of Seven nations taking a tough line by imposing sanctions on Russia following its attack on Ukraine, Kishida also plans to ask ASEAN members, most of which have so far refrained from such action against Moscow, to collaborate.

During the trip, Kishida will also meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and hold talks with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha.

Japan and Thailand, marking the 135th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year, are seeking to sign an agreement on the transfer of defense equipment and technology to strengthen cooperation in the security field. Thailand is this year’s host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit.

In Europe, Kishida is expected to discuss with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson how to respond to Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine and support people who have fled the war-torn country.

Kishida is planning to visit the Vatican during the trip and hold talks with Pope Francis, a Japanese government source said. It would be the first meeting in eight years between a Japanese prime minister and the pope.

Through the meeting, Kishida, who seeks a world free of nuclear weapons, aims to confirm the Vatican’s support and deliver a message of peace at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested using nuclear weapons amid the war in Ukraine.

While the coronavirus pandemic has restricted in-person meetings, Kishida, who took office in October, has been increasing face-to-face diplomacy after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

The latest overseas trip follows his visit in late March to India and Cambodia as well as a visit to Belgium, where he and other leaders of the G7 vowed to keep a close watch on any attempts to help Russia evade sanctions, in a possible warning to countries such as China that may seek to aid Moscow.