(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
I will visit Indonesia from Sunday, January 5 to Wednesday, January 8, early in the new year, and hold a Japan-Indonesia Defense Ministerial Meeting. I am scheduled to meet with Minister of Defence Sjafrie of Indonesia for the first Japan-Indonesia Defense Ministerial Meeting since the previous one in April. Then Defence Minister Prabowo has since been inaugurated as the President. Southeast Asia is a region of strategic importance located on a critical sea lane for Japan. The bilateral relationship between our two countries was elevated to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” last year. In addition, our two sides concurred to further strengthen cooperation in the area of security at the Japan-Indonesia Summit Meeting held in Japan last December. Taking the opportunity of this visit, I intend to further enhance cooperation with Indonesia, which holds great significance from a security standpoint.
I have one more announcement. This is about the transfer of material handling vehicles to Viet Nam. The transfer of two decommissioned Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) material handling vehicles was completed yesterday, December 23, marking the first transfer conducted based on the Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of Social Republic of Viet Nam concerning the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology. This was the result of ongoing coordination between our two countries for the transfer of material handling vehicles operated by the GSDF, which arose from the longstanding and strong interest shown by the Vietnamese side in Japan’s disaster response capabilities. To mark the completion of this transfer, the Ministry of National Defence of Viet Nam is scheduled to host a commemorative ceremony in Viet Nam tomorrow, December 25. The promotion of defense cooperation and exchanges with Viet Nam is important for ensuring the peace and stability of Japan and the Indo-Pacific region. This transfer will contribute not only to enhancing Viet Nam’s disaster response capabilities, but also to strengthening relations between our countries’ defense authorities. The Ministry of Defense of Japan intends to continue to advance defense equipment and technology cooperation, as a matter of course, as well as capacity building and educational exchanges, among other forms of cooperation.