The leaders of Japan and Singapore are expected to agree on the launch of negotiations to reach a deal on the transfer of defence equipment and technology, Japanese government sources said Thursday.
The agreement, expected at a summit on Saturday in Singapore, is part of Tokyo's drive to deepen security cooperation with Southeast Asian nations as China is bolstering its economic and military power in the Indo-Pacific region.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to visit Singapore from Friday to attend the Shangri-La security dialogue among defence officials and experts and meet with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday.
Japan has signed similar agreements with 12 nations to export defence equipment and technology within the limits of the pacifist Constitution. They include longtime ally the United States, along with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
For his part, Kishida hopes to use the upcoming summit to seek cooperation with Lee on realizing a "free and open" Indo-Pacific as the Japanese leader has expressed concern about the ramifications of the war in Ukraine for the region.
Kishida also seeks to reiterate opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China seas, the sources said. Some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Aseans) are embroiled in territorial disputes in the South China Sea with Beijing.
Singapore is the only Asean member that has imposed sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and Japan hopes to coordinate closely with it in responding to the crisis.
