Kuala lumpur: Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed Sunday to beef up cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the fields of security, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. At a meeting with leaders of ASEAN member states in Kuala Lumpur, Takaichi, who was inaugurated Tuesday, also stressed the importance of an international order based on the rule of law, apparently with China in mind, which is expanding coercive actions in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

According to Philippines News Agency, next year will mark 10 years since the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed the free and open Indo-Pacific initiative. Takaichi, who regards the initiative as her administration's foreign policy pillar, emphasized the need to further strengthen Japan's relations with ASEAN nations, located in a strategically important area between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

Japan will expand support for ASEAN nations under its official security assistance program, which includes supplies of defense equipment and other items to like-minded nations, Takaichi said. She also vowed to step up cooperation in disaster response in addition to maritime security.

The Japanese and ASEAN leaders agreed to deepen cooperation in a wide range of areas, including cross-border issues such as decarbonization. Takaichi called for expanding joint research on advanced technologies, such as AI, quantum computing, and semiconductors, and proposed the establishment of an AI-related joint initiative that will address human resources development and other challenges.

At the end of the Japan-ASEAN summit, the leaders adopted a joint statement calling for the promotion of the free and open Indo-Pacific initiative. Earlier on Sunday, Takaichi visited a cemetery for Japanese who died in Malaysia and Tugu Negara, the Southeast Asian country's national monument, and laid flowers at the sites. The visit to Malaysia is Takaichi's first foreign trip since taking office.