Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim are set to confirm their cooperation in strengthening semiconductor supply chains at their meeting later this week, a government source said Monday.
During their planned summit on Thursday in Tokyo, the two leaders are also expected to agree to work together in various fields, ranging from decarbonization, digitalization and 5G mobile communication system to cybersecurity capabilities, the source said.
Kishida and Anwar will meet with Japan seeking to bolster ties with emerging and developing countries, collectively referred to as the Global South, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Malaysia will take the ASEAN chair next year.
With the aim of realizing a carbon-free society, Kishida and Anwar participated in the launching summit of the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community framework in December, involving Australia and ASEAN countries except for Myanmar.
The Japanese and Malaysian leaders are likely to reaffirm the agreements at the 11-member AZEC meeting, such as pursuing decarbonization through "diverse" and "practical" pathways in the fast-growing ASEAN region, according to the source.
Kishida is also certain to convey Japan's interest in conducting bilateral joint coast guard drills with Malaysia, while sharing concerns with Anwar over China's "unilateral attempts to change the status quo" in the East and South China seas, the source said.
At their last talks in Tokyo in December on the sidelines of the three-day Japan-ASEAN summit, Kishida agreed with Anwar to provide rescue boats to Malaysia under Japan's new framework for like-minded partners, called official security assistance, or OSA.
In February, meanwhile, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force and Malaysia's navy held their first joint exercise in the Andaman Sea, a marginal body of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the west side of the Malay Peninsula, followed by a second one in April.
