South China Sea: Japan's Prime Miniter Yoshihide Suga opposes actions that escalate tensions

Japan on Wednesdayopposedany actions that escalate tension in the East and South China Seas.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Sugatook a thinly veiled dig at China’s activities in the disputed South China Sea, where it has built and militarised manmade islands and is pressing its claim to virtually all of the sea’s key fisheries and waterways.

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A number of Southeast Asian nations dispute China’s claims to the waters.

“In the Indo-Pacific that connects maritime transport between Japan and ASEAN, we can achieve the peace and prosperity only by fully implementing rule of law that allows anyone freedom and openness,” Suga told a news conference in Jakarta. ASEAN is the 11-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“But in the South China Sea, opposite actions are being taken and we are closely watching with grave concern,” Suga said. “Japan opposes to any action that would increase tensions in the South China Sea.”

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Suga reiterated that all parties involved in the South China Sea disputes must make peaceful efforts toward resolution, not by force or threat.

Suga pledged to strengthen bilateral defense ties with Southeast Asian nations and promised further assistance to step up their maritime policing, including training and equipment transfer from the Japanese Coast Guard.

The trip follows this month's meeting in Tokyo of the “Quad”, an informal grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the United States that Washington sees as a bulwark against China’s growing regional influence.

China has denounced the grouping of the four democracies as a "mini-NATO" aimed at containing its development.

"Our response in the South China Sea is not aimed at any one country," Suga said, when asked if Japan wanted to create an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Suga must balance Japan’s deep economic ties with China against security concerns, including Beijing’s growing push to assert claims over disputed East China Sea isles.

Some in his ruling party want to see a harder line, after ties warmed under his predecessor, Shinzo Abe.

"Japan is determined to defend its territory, territorial waters and air space," Suga said, adding that Japan also opposed actions that raised tension in the East China Sea.

Several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have territorial disputes with China in the vital South China Sea, but are wary of alienating the group's major economic partner and getting entangled in an intense confrontation between Washington and Beijing.

But some welcome Japan's greater engagement in the region.

Suga agreed with President Joko Widodo on Tuesday to speed talks on the export of Japanese defence gear and technology to Indonesia and have their defence and foreign ministers meet soon.

A day earlier, the Japanese leader and Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc also agreed in principle on a military equipment and technology export pact.