Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba left Sunday (April 27) for a four -day trip to Vietnam and the Philippines, while Tokyo seeks to consolidate the regional ties after the assault on the price of US President Donald Trump.
Ishiba's journey comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping led his own Southeast Asian TourWith Beijing trying to position himself as a stable alternative in the United States while leaders are fighting to counter Trump's prices.
Before leaving for the trip, Ishiba called Vietnam and the Philippines – as well as the rest of Southeast Asia – a “growth center” that stimulates the world economy.
But they face “major impacts” due to Donald Trump's radical rates, he said, adding that Japanese companies operating in the region could also be affected.
“We would like to listen carefully to the opinions and concerns of Japanese companies in the region and take advantage of it in the way we deal with tariff measures,” he said.
Although it is the largest investor in the United States, Japan has been pinched by steep samples imposed by Trump on car, steel and aluminum imports.
The country is included in Trump's coverage at 10%, although the American chief has interrupted his “reciprocal” duty of 24%.
Trump has also taken a “reciprocal” break of 46% on Vietnam and 49% on Cambodia, where some Japanese companies have moved an increasing part of production in recent years, in part to avoid the fallout from the last trade war in American China.
Ishiba should also raise problems related to the growing aggression of China in the East and southern China Sea.
Chinese and Japanese patrol ships at the eastern China Sea have regularly staged dangerous confrontations around the disputed islands.
Vietnam and the Philippines also experienced tense territorial spates in the very contested southern Sea with Chinese ships.
“There are China attempts to unilaterally modify the status quo by force, and we would like to further strengthen our security cooperation” with Hanoi and Manila, said Ishiba.
