CENTRE FOR AIR POWER STUDIES

The third pillar of the FOIP is "multi-layered connectivity." Kishida reaffirmed Japan's goal of "increasing each country's options" and went on to list the "three important regions," which are the Pacific Islands, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. [...] In this context, Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa visited Samoa and Fiji in February 2024 to engage with the Island countries and to lay the groundwork for the tenth Pacific-Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM), which will be held in July in Tokyo.1 These initiatives were a part of Japan and its Oceania allies' decades-long engagement policy, but at their core are the higher stakes associated with. [...] Background of their Cooperation "Ensuring peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, through establishing a free and open order based on the shared values and principles such as the rule of law," is the goal of Japan's vision for a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific." Japan has been stepping up its presence in the Pacific Islands since the announcement of FOIP in 2016, even though they m. [...] The Defense of Japan report and Defense Guidelines from 2018 included the Pacific Islands for the first time.2 They said that Japan would encourage port and airport visits by the Self- Defense Forces (SDF) as well as exchanges and cooperation that make use of the capabilities and distinctive qualities of each SDF service. [...] Japan significantly promotes these regional nations' sense of ownership and mutual understanding of the rules and norms it supports since the legitimacy of international rules and norms ultimately rests on the number of supporting states and the backing of big powers.