KEI_KoreaPolicy_2023_V1-2_Final_Digital

Standing in front of the Parliament, Abe articulated the strategic importance of the vast maritime area spanning from the Pacific to Indian oceans in his speech entitled “Confluence of the Two Seas.” Citing the title of a book written by a Mughal Prince in the 17th century, Abe argued that Japan and India stood together at an historic moment when these two oceans have joined in a broader maritime. [...] and Europe on the one hand and the countries in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond on the other. [...] First and foremost, the 2022 NSS clearly identified China as ”an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge in ensuring the peace and security of Japan and the peace and stability of the international community, as well as in strengthening the international order based on the rule of law,” which is a notable departure from Tokyo’s past approach to China. [...] Citing “three principles of the rule of law at sea”— international law-based territorial claims, no use of force or coercion to unilaterally change the status quo, and peaceful settlement of disputes—that Japan supports, Kishida discussed extensively the importance of empowering maritime law enforcement organizations and aviation authorities in the region.22 A comparison of the updated Indo-Pacifi. [...] Consistent with the Biden administration’s National Security Strategy, which discussed the global security environment in the context of the strategic competition between democracy and autocracy, it emphasizes the importance of democratic norms and institutions and promoting cooperation with U.