Jetting from Turkey to Southeast Asia in mid-November at a time when the U.S.-China rivalry is playing out in the hotly contested South China Sea, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has painstakingly painted a picture of an ever stronger Japan-U.S. alliance and a tight network with Asian friends.
During a series of regional summits in Kuala Lumpur, Abe defied Beijing's objections to raising the South China Sea issue multilaterally and expressed his "serious concerns" over China's massive land reclamation activities and building of outposts, and pointed to unilateral attempts to change the status quo at sea.
According to Japanese officials, Beijing's muscle-flexing in the South China Sea, which is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and believed to be resource-rich, has highlighted the need for Japan and the United States to be more engaged in the Asian region, especially in light of Japan's new security laws, furthering their partnership in upholding freedom of navigation and the rule of law.