Japan-Thailand Defense Ministerial Meeting (Summary)

in Japanese
November 17th, 2019
Japan Ministry of Defense

　On 17th November, 2019, commencing at 9:00 am (local time) for approx. 30 minutes, Defense Minister Kono, who was visiting Thailand to attend the 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), held a meeting with Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Purayuth Chan-ocha of Thailand. After the meeting, both ministers signed “MEMORANDUM OF ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE OF JAPAN AND THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND ON COOPERATION AND EXCHANGES IN THE FIELD OF DEFENSE.” The summary of the meeting is as follows:

1. Opening

　At the beginning, Minister Kono expressed his respect to Thailand for playing an important role as chairman of the ADMM-Plus, and stated that Japan would like to substantiate the Japan-Thai bilateral cooperation based on the Memorandum on Defense Cooperation and Exchanges which was signed on the sidelines of this meeting. In response, Minister Purayuth agreed with this idea.

2. Bilateral Cooperation

  1. 　(1) Minister Kono stated that Japan would like to promote cooperation such as port calls by vessels and aircraft, JSDF’s participation in the multilateral joint exercise “Cobra Gold”, and holding staff talks. In response, Minister Purayuth stated that Thailand welcomes these measures.
  2. 　(2) Both ministers agreed to further enhance defense cooperation in broad fields based on the Memorandum.

3. Regional Issues

  1. 　(1) Regarding the situation of North Korea, Minister Kono emphasized the importance of implementing UNSC resolutions, and with regards to the situation of the South China Sea, he expressed serious concerns over actions undermining regional peace and prosperity.
  2. 　(2) Both ministers shared the importance on this issue.