Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce a new plan to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, a Japan-led initiative aimed at curbing China's growing regional assertiveness, a senior government official said Wednesday.
The plan, designed to maintain a rules-based international order, is set to be unveiled during Kishida's three-day visit to India from Sunday, with Japan trying to push the blueprint, advocated by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the official told reporters.
In a bid to strengthen the vision, Kishida has been eager to boost security cooperation with like-minded democracies to balance China, while expressing willingness to expand official development aid to emerging countries in the region.
Kishida is considering delivering the new idea in his speech on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hikariko Ono said, adding the premier is also likely to explain to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi about the plan during their talks.
The latest announcement would come as Japan has recently been keen to deepen relations with India, a key nation of the "Global South," a term that collectively refers to developing countries in areas such as Asia, Africa and Latin America.
India is also a member of the "Quad," a four-way security framework involving the United States and Australia.
Kishida's proposal would include the provision of nonmilitary equipment and infrastructure support for nations in the Asia-Pacific region that have been facing threats from Beijing's military buildup in the South China Sea, Ono said.