Japan's Suga to visit Philippines, India after Biden meeting, in bid to reaffirm Indo-Pacific cooperation
Suga is expected to hold talks with Biden on April 16 and will be the first foreign leader to meet the new US president at the White House.
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India is part of the Quad, an alliance of the United States, Australia and Japan that is widely seen as a counterweight to China's growing clout.
India has been embroiled in a months-long border dispute with China, sparked by a deadly clash in Ladakh in May last year. Even as a military disengagement process on both sides began in February, New Delhi has been seeking to deepen ties with its Quad partners.
The dispute has put Manila in a difficult position, Ito said, pointing out that a recent report by the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies showed that while 80 per cent of Philippine government officials and academics see China as a threat to national security, more than half simultaneously believe the nation has no choice but to have a good relationship with Beijing.
Stephen Nagy, an associate professor of international relations at Tokyo's International Christian University, said the timing of Suga's visit to the Philippines - immediately after returning from Washington - was significant.
"Suga will effectively be conveying a message to Manila that it will defend the Philippines and its claims to islands in the South China Sea and to India that it is a close and important ally and partner in the region," he said. "The message will also be that the US is back and is once again committed to the region and that it values the friendships it has with both countries."
Last month, Japan's ambassador to the Philippines, Koshikawa Kazuhiko, commented on the ships massing near Whitsun Reef that Manila has described as likely being manned by maritime militia. He said Japan opposed "any action that heightens tensions" in the South China Sea, and supported international efforts to keep the waters peaceful and open.
The Chinese embassy in the Philippines hit back on Twitter, pointing out that within the region, tensions were rising "because some external countries are bent on playing fusty geopolitical games".
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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