A new trade bloc covering a huge swathe of the Asia-Pacific region will play an important role in developing poorer economies and in post-pandemic stimulus, according to a report published on Monday by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The deal marks the first time rival East Asian powers China, Japan and South Korea have been in a single free trade agreement.
The exercise, being conducted as a ‘non-contact, at sea only’ exercise in view of COVID-19 pandemic, will showcase the high-levels of synergy and coordination between the friendly navies, which is based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order.
The two ministers also concurred that the Indo-Pacific has acquired greater salience in recent times and underscored the need for India and Japan to work together for the benefit of the region.
Addressing the 2nd Quad ministerial meeting, Prime Minister Suga said a free and open Indo-Pacific is “widely recognised by the international community as a vision of peace and prosperity of this region,” and that his government’s basic policy is to “further continue advancing our members to this end.”
Mr. Suga reported that so far, Japan has provided over $1.5 billion in foreign aid to medical and health centres during the pandemic.
They also expressed their concern at the lack of any meaningful movement forward in the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform
The concept of the Indo-Pacific has incorporated India into the larger solution and the Trump administration is developing new arrangements to coordinate with like-minded partners like the Quad countries, a top American diplomat has told lawmakers.
The US requires India standing by its side for the success of its strategy of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, a top American diplomat said Monday noting that the Quad concept has helped New Delhi find a place in the larger Indo-Pacific theatre.
Esper in his keynote address to the Daniel K Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii said that to advance the agenda of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to pursue an aggressive modernisation plan to achieve a world-class military by the middle of the century.