Since late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe created the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy in 2016, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has been pivotal to connecting the fast-growing Indian Ocean and Pacific regions.
Japan has stepped up engagement with ASEAN for over a decade. Upon taking office for his second term in 2012, Abe made his first official visit to three of the bloc¡¯s countries ¡ª Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia ¡ª declaring that ¡°Japan will walk alongside ASEAN as an equal partner.¡± And this position has been kept alive by Abe¡¯s successors. In 2023, Kishida referred to Southeast Asian nations as Japan¡¯s ¡°closest and most crucial partners¡± in the Global South.
The reason behind Tokyo¡¯s approach is simple ¡ª maintaining the principle of ASEAN centrality, which states that the region should not be dictated by great powers and is critical to a free and open international order. The erosion of this principle could lead to the rivalry between the United States and China becoming the dominant force shaping the Indo-Pacific.
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