In his first overseas visit as prime minister, Shinzo Abe enhanced Japan's relations with three Southeast Asian countries in an apparent bid to counter China's growing assertiveness in the region.
During his whirlwind four-day tour of Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, which was cut short by the hostage crisis in Algeria, Abe underscored the importance of applying the rule of law to resolve territorial arguments involving China and its neighbors in the East and South China seas.
He stressed Tokyo's opposition to "changing the status quo by force" in his meetings with the three countries' leaders and demonstrated a sense of unity amid heightened bilateral tensions with Beijing over the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The uninhabited islets are also claimed by China, which knows them as Diaoyu, and Taiwan, which calls them Tiaoyutai.