EXCLUSIVE: Takaichi to Deliver Foreign Policy Address in Vietnam

Tokyo, April 21 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is preparing to deliver an address on her country’s foreign policy during a trip to Vietnam early next month, Jiji Press learned Tuesday. In the address, Takaichi is expected to say that Japan will renew its “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” diplomatic policy initiative to focus more on economic security, including bolstering supply chains for critical goods and expanding energy security, according to government sources. The prime minister said in her policy address to the Diet, Japan’s parliament, in February that her government will “strategically evolve” the FOIP initiative as this year marks a decade since the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed the regional strategy. There is a growing need for each country to bolster its autonomy and resilience in the face of intensifying geopolitical competition and the race for dominance in new technologies such as artificial intelligence, she also said. The FOIP initiative, which counters China’s Belt and Road huge economic bloc initiative and emphasizes the rule of law and intraregional connectivity, was welcomed by many Indo-Pacific countries. Meanwhile, the region has seen increasing risks of supply chain disruptions following the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s export controls and fuel shortages triggered by the ongoing Middle East tensions. Against this background, Takaichi is set to call for boosting supply chain resilience for strategic items such as medical goods and critical minerals in her address in Vietnam. The Partnership On Wide Energy and Resources Resilience, or POWERR Asia, a new energy support framework for Asian countries that the Japanese leader has recently announced, is believed to be linked to the diplomatic policy renewal. Takaichi plans to visit Vietnam and Australia in early May, during Japan’s Golden Week holiday period, for talks with their respective leaders on the conflict surrounding Iran, security issues and stronger economic collaboration. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]