In Tokyo, the Malaysian Prime Minister not only gave a briefing on China on the South China Sea issue, but also publicly revealed that he was asked why he turned to China during his previous visit to the United States, and Anwar's response was quite direct.
In the past two days, the ASEAN-Japan 50th Anniversary Summit was held in Tokyo, where all the heads of state of the 10 ASEAN countries gathered. At this summit, Japan and ASEAN also reached a lot of cooperation. In addition to the signing of the ASEAN-Japan Joint Vision Statement on Friendship and Cooperation, Fumio Kishida also announced that investment in the ASEAN region will reach US$35 billion over the next five years.
In addition, Japan and ASEAN have reached a consensus on the South China Sea issue, and the two sides have pledged to strengthen cooperation on maritime security and security. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, Japan and ASEAN listed a total of 130 cooperation plans. The Japanese side is quite satisfied with this result.
You know, the current situation of Kishida is actually quite difficult. Recently, many of the ** in the Kishida cabinet have been forced to resign because of scandals, and since the formation of Kishida's new cabinet, 6 people have resigned, including Kishida's right and left hand, Japan's former chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.
Kishida also gave an explanation to the domestic people by resigning as chairman of the Kishida faction of the Liberal Democratic Party. Not only that, but in the past two days, the approval rating of the Kishida cabinet has fallen to 17%, and it is likely to exceed 10% if this trend continues. In this way, Kishida is not far away.
As things stand, Kishida's situation is already quite dangerous. Therefore, Kishida ** has to divert the attention of the people by strengthening diplomatic activities, so as to restore the trust of the Japanese people in his **. As a result, Kishida has also directly provided $35 billion to ASEAN countries to deepen relations between Japan and ASEAN countries.
Of course, manipulating the South China Sea issue is also aimed at strengthening Japan's influence in the Asia-Pacific region, and at the same time, it can also create problems for China. Therefore, this time, Kishida and Marcos Jr. of the Philippines also carried out in-depth exchanges on the South China Sea issue, and the two sides reached a consensus on speeding up the implementation of mutual stationing troops.
However, despite Japan's many benefits to ASEAN countries, ASEAN countries still adhere to their own principles in handling the Kannanhai issue. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in an interview on the sidelines of the summit that Malaysia would not escalate its dispute with China over the South China Sea to the level of "hostility", thereby affecting bilateral relations between China and Malaysia.
In addition, he stressed that ASEAN countries will insist on resolving the South China Sea issue through negotiation and dialogue with China. It can be seen that ASEAN countries do not want to exacerbate their differences with China because of the South China Sea issue, which also shows that ASEAN countries do not want to join the competition between major powers.
Not only that, but Anwar also made a special mention of the interview he gave in the United States in the interview. Previously, when Anwar visited the United States, the United States asked him why Malaysia would "lean" towards China, and he bluntly said that because China has invested more in Malaysia, and both China and Malaysia have solved the problem through negotiations, Malaysia has not leaned towards China in terms of policy.
It has to be said that Anwar's answer was quite straightforward. In fact, by asking such a question, the United States is deliberately inducing Anwar to choose sides between China and the United States. However, Anwar not only did not fall for it, but gave a very practical answer. This shows that the most important thing for ASEAN countries at present is the economic interests.
You know, as of this year, China has been the largest partner of ASEAN for 14 consecutive years, with the implementation of the "Belt and Road", China has injected a lot of fresh impetus into the economic development of the ASEAN region, and the cooperation between the two sides has been deepened and strengthened year by year, and still has a lot of room for development.
Therefore, the tangible benefits brought by cooperation with China to ASEAN countries are considerable, and it is precisely for this reason that ASEAN attaches great importance to its relations with China. Anwar also commented that China is a reliable friend and ally for them. It can be seen from this that it is by no means easy for either the United States or Japan to sow discord between China and ASEAN.
Of course, Japan, the United States and other countries, as foreign countries, want to undermine regional stability and peace by manipulating the South China Sea issue, and this move is completely against all the countries around the South China Sea. They know that only through dialogue and consultation with China can they effectively manage differences, avoid further deterioration of the situation, and maintain stability and peace in the South China Sea.
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