“This will help improve national defense and support Japanese investment in this activity, which is an important target for Thailand,” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said in a joint statement read with Kishida. Prayuth said he discussed improvements in supply chains and a five-year economic partnership with Japan, Thailand’s largest investor. Southeast Asia has been an important region for Japan for decades, hosting some of the biggest names in the industry, from infrastructure, engineering and industry to vehicles and electronics. The region remains a battleground between the United States, a close ally of Japan, and rival China, Southeast Asia’s largest trading partner. During his three-day trip, Kishida also visited Vietnam and Indonesia, where Japanese companies have a large presence. As the leader of the only G7 group in Asia, Kishida discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during his trip to Southeast Asia, where only one nation – Singapore – has been sanctioned. Moscow. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation.” Nine Southeast Asian countries backed a United Nations resolution in March condemning the invasion, but Kishida thanked Prayuth for backing Thailand. “I have agreed with Prime Minister Prayuth that in any region violations of sovereignty and territorial integrity or unilateral changes to the status quo by force should not be tolerated,” he said. Noriyuki Shikata, Japan’s cabinet’s public affairs secretary, told reporters earlier Monday that Tokyo would extend a $ 50 billion ($ 385 million) loan to support Covid-19’s mitigation efforts.
