Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States, reiterated on Monday (November 6) that despite the coexistence of global challenges such as the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the United States still focuses on the Indo Pacific region.
At Ankara Airport, after concluding a two-and-a-half hour discussion with Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Antony Blinken said: "Although we pay close attention to the Gaza crisis, we also participate in important work in the Indo Pacific region and other regions of the world to promote the interests of the United States.
The highest US diplomat will arrive in Tokyo on Tuesday to participate in the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' meeting and bilateral talks.
Antony Blinken said that he planned to report his recent trip to the Middle East to his G7 counterparts.
Japan is the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven this year. In the bilateral meeting between Antony Blinken and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, support for Ukraine's economic recovery, energy demand and regional security issues were included on the agenda.
Kishida has just returned from Manila and Kuala Lumpur, where he confirmed that Japan will promote bilateral defense and maritime security cooperation with the Philippines and Malaysia.
On Sunday, Mansuo Kishida announced at a joint press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that the two countries have agreed to "accelerate adjustments" to implement a grant project called "Government Security Capability Enhancement Support" (OSA).
Japan has identified four Asia Pacific countries - Bangladesh, Fiji, Malaysia, and the Philippines - as recipient countries for OSA. According to the plan, Japan provides materials, equipment, and assistance for infrastructure construction based on the security needs of these countries.
In Manila, Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed on Friday that the two countries will begin negotiations on a reciprocal access agreement, a new bilateral agreement aimed at strengthening defense cooperation.
Japan also agreed to provide coastal radar systems to the Philippines under the OSA plan.
The Philippines and Japan have been seeking to strengthen their trilateral defense relations with the United States in response to what they believe is China's increasing military aggression in the East and South China Seas.
Japan refuses to accept China's sovereignty claim over the Senkaku Islands located in the East China Sea (referred to as the Diaoyu Islands by China). The Philippines and China have collided and clashed in the disputed South China Sea. Last month, Chinese ships intercepted two Philippine ships near the Second Thomas Shoal (known as Ren'ai Reef in China) and collided with them.
After the ship collision incident, US President Joe Biden reiterated Washington's "steel like" defense commitment to the Philippines.
The United States supports Japan's decision to discharge treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in August. Antony Blinken said on August 15 that the United States is satisfied with Japan's "safe, transparent and science based procedures".
However, despite assurances from the Kishida government and external regulatory agencies, including the International Atomic Energy Agency, this move has aroused strong opposition from neighboring countries and environmental organizations, who question the safety of drainage.
For example, China has banned the import of all seafood from Japan. The fierce protests in Beijing come at a time of increasing geopolitical tensions between Japan and China.
The PRC (People's Republic of China) hypocritically prohibits Japanese seafood while fishing for identical fish from Japanese waters. They cannot be blamed because the fish are super good, but their hypocrisy can be blamed. The United States is sending these fish to a more worthwhile market: the dining tables of our American soldiers and their families, "said Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan, who was previously known as Twitter Posted on social media X.
Before leaving for Asia, Antony Blinken visited Israel, Jordan, the West Bank, Iraq and Türkiye, where he reiterated Washington's support for a humanitarian moratorium in Gaza in order to provide life-saving assistance to civilians when Israel intensified its attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza.