Leaders of coast guard authorities around the world gathered in Tokyo for two-day talks from Tuesday to discuss ways to build a framework for international cooperation in maritime security.
Some 100 countries, regions and organizations — a record high — are set to take part in the Coast Guard Global Summit, jointly hosted by the Japan Coast Guard and the Nippon Foundation.
"At a time when various damage and threats are growing in the oceans due to environmental changes on a global scale, coast guard authorities need to strengthen cooperation and expand dialogue more than ever," Japan Coast Guard Commandant Shohei Ishii said at the opening ceremony.
The summit, held for the first time in four years, is the third of its kind. The previous two meetings took place in 2017 and 2019, both in Tokyo. According to Japan Coast Guard and other officials, 84 parties, including the United States, South Korea, China and Russia, took part in the 2019 summit.
While participants in the latest summit have not been disclosed, there is apparently an increase in those from Latin America and the Middle East.
At the summit, participants will discuss ways to share information among coast guard organizations, develop global human resources and use cutting-edge technologies such as unmanned ships.
The meeting will not take up issues specific to individual countries, such as those related to Chinese activity in waters off the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, claimed by China, and North Korea's repeated missile launches.
The latest summit follows two other international coast guard meetings in September, namely the Asian coast guard summit in Turkey and a meeting in Canada within the six-party framework among Japan, the United States, China, South Korea, Russia and Canada. China and Russia were absent from the Canada meeting.