Japan PM vows more effort to keep Asia 'free and open'

FE Team | Published: May 02, 2026 21:45:39

HANOI (Vietnam), May 02 (AFP): Japan's prime minister vowed Saturday to do more to ensure a "free and open Indo-Pacific", using a speech in communist Vietnam to tout a regional strategy that has long rankled neighbouring China.
"I am renewing my determination to fulfil Japan's responsibilities and... to play an even more proactive role than ever before in building an international order based on freedom, openness, diversity, inclusiveness, and the rule of law," Sanae Takaichi said in an address at a Hanoi university.
In an era of "intensifying geopolitical competition, accelerating technological innovation", the Japanese premier called for Asian countries to cultivate "resilience" and the ability to "determine their own future".
Japan and Vietnam share common concerns about China's territorial claims in the East and South China Seas, and both have sought to hedge against US-driven trade disruptions by broadening economic and security ties.
But Hanoi aims to stay on good terms with all global powers through its traditional "bamboo diplomacy" approach, while Tokyo has seen its already frosty relations with Beijing deteriorate markedly in recent months.
That makes Vietnam a striking choice of venue for a Japanese foreign policy speech touting a strategy backed by Washington and closely associated with US President Donald Trump.
First articulated a decade ago by Takaichi's mentor Shinzo Abe, the idea of a "free and open" Indo-Pacific has since been embraced by multiple US partners and allies seeking to curb China's influence in the region.
Beijing has slammed the initiative as veiled attempt to promote bloc confrontation, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian accusing Tokyo of "stirring up confrontation between camps".
In her address Saturday, Takaichi said she was updating the diplomatic vision for a "challenging" new era.
Without naming Beijing directly, she warned against "excessive dependence on a single country for critical goods", saying this often results from "unduly low prices" and calling for a "level playing field".