Prime Minister Shinzo Abe conveyed to his ASEAN counterparts Wednesday in Brunei that Tokyo is ready to improve ties with Beijing through dialogue while at the same time expressing concern over China's behavior by referring to attempts to change the status quo by force.
In a bid to assuage concern about his administration's purported tilt to the right, Abe also addressed his moves toward lifting Japan's self-imposed ban on aiding allies that come under armed attack — collective self-defense — and creating a U.S.-style National Security Council.
Concern persists within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, for which China is the most important single trading partner, over the soured ties between Beijing and Tokyo that largely stem from the Senkaku Islands dispute.