Indonesia and Japan’s leaders pledged to deepen bilateral cooperation on several fronts including defence, energy and food security at a meeting Saturday, as Tokyo seeks to boost its influence in Southeast Asia.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba became the first foreign leader to visit Indonesia this year, meeting President Prabowo Subianto a day after visiting neighbouring Malaysia.

Japan aims to collaborate with Indonesia on boosting renewable energy, and to boost defence ties in areas such as maritime security and technology transfer, Ishiba said after the meeting. Prabowo called on Japan to collaborate on its priorities, which include a free lunch programme for schools and the downstreaming of natural resources.  

Ishiba’s visit to the region signals Tokyo’s desire to boost engagement with Southeast Asia in an attempt to counter China’s growing influence. The Japanese leader is also scheduled to hold a phone call with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and US President Joe Biden on Sunday, according to Marcos’ office.

Japan will also provide Indonesia with a patrol vessel through a grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, following an agreement signed in December, Ishiba noted.

During his two-day visit to Malaysia which concluded on Friday, Japan pledged to increase cooperation on renewable energy and discussed issues such as the South China Sea with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Japan and China has long competed to assert influence in Southeast Asia, a market worth over US$3 trillion with some 700 million people. China is the top trading partner of the regional bloc known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to HSBC Holdings plc estimates, with total trade reaching US$911.7 billion in 2023. Japan is in fourth spot.

While Southeast Asian nations have embraced China’s investments, they’re also wary of its assertiveness, especially in the disputed South China Sea. The sea is a critical artery for global trade, including about 37% of the world’s maritime crude. Beijing has laid claim to a vast swath of the waters, based on a vague 1940s map that has broadly been rejected by other nations and a United Nations tribunal.

Indonesia, for one, has had skirmishes with China’s vessels over the resource-rich waters around Natuna Islands on the edge of the South China Sea, which Indonesia says is part of its exclusive economic zone that China also claims.

For Prabowo, the latest meeting with Japan — a key US ally — signals a continuation of Indonesia’s middle-of-the-road strategy in navigating the US-China rivalry. Indonesia has reiterated it adopts an open foreign policy and won’t choose sides.

In April, Prabowo met China’s President Xi Jinping in what was his first overseas state visit after becoming president-elect. He then visited Japan, underscoring that balancing act.

  - Bloomberg