Japanese Defense Minister Calls for Enhancing Multinational Security Cooperation at Asia Security Summit in Singapore
Hirotaka Kuriyama / The Yomiuri Shimbun
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, right, shakes hands with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles in Singapore on Sunday.
SINGAPORE — Defense Minister Gen Nakatani called for stronger relations with like-minded countries, including the United States, to increase deterrence against China in conjunction with the Asian Security Summit in Singapore held from Friday to Sunday.
As the U.S. government is increasing its pressure on allies and like-minded countries through tariff measures, Nakatani focused on maintaining multinational cooperation.
After finishing his meetings at the summit, which is also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, Nakatani told reporters on Sunday, 'I exchanged opinions with many defense ministers, and reaffirmed the need to strengthen defense cooperation and partnership.'
On the same day, Nakatani met with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles to call on the Australian government to jointly develop ships based on the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami class destroyers regarding Canberra's plan to introduce a new type of ship. If joint development is realized, it is expected that interoperability between the SDF and the Australian military will be improved.
Nakatani also held individual talks with the defense ministers of the Philippines and Malaysia, which are both in dispute with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea, and held bilateral meetings with a total of eight countries during his stay.
The defense ministers of Japan, the United States, Australia and the Philippines held a meeting on Saturday. The meeting was aimed at maintaining U.S. involvement in the Indo-Pacific region as the Trump administration, which has been accused of disregarding its allies, has been at odds with other countries over tariff measures. The ministers confirmed that they will meet regularly in the future, expressed 'serious concern' about China's attempts to change the status quo and reconciled their perceptions of China.
A trilateral defense ministers' meeting of Japan, the United States and Australia was also held on Saturday. The ministers issued a statement acknowledging the importance of partnership.
Nakatani's focus on maintaining multinational cooperation, including with the United States, at the summit is aimed at preventing China, which has been making unilateral advances in the region, from taking advantage of the growing distrust of the U.S. to expand its influence in the region.
On Saturday, Nakatani delivered his address at the Asian Security Summit and emphasized the importance of 'the rules-based international order.' He also proposed the cooperative framework of OCEAN (One Cooperative Effort Among Nations) so that countries sharing common values and interests will jointly expand their cooperation.
'Each of the countries also expressed similar views. I got responses indicating that all of them shared the same opinion,' Nakatani told reporters on Sunday.
However, it remains to be seen whether the relationship between the United States and its allies and like-minded countries will be able to improve. A senior Defense Ministry official said, 'It will be increasingly necessary for Japan to compensate for the decline in the U.S. presence.'
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We will also continue to deepen U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation to bolster regional security, enhance economic resilience, and defend our shared democratic principles." 6:45 a.m. Lee Jae-myung's inauguration will take place at 11 a.m., the Ministry of the Interior and Safety says. 6:21 a.m. Lee Jae-myung has been certified as South Korea's president-elect by the National Election Commission. 1:41 a.m. Conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo concedes defeat, congratulating winner Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party. "I humbly accept the decision of the public," Kim says in televised remarks. "I offer my sincere congratulations to President-elect Lee Jae-myung on his victory." 1:14 a.m. Lee Jae-myung addresses his supporters near the National Assembly in Yeouido, in western Seoul. "Let's embark on a new departure," he says. "The people who didn't support us are also citizens of the Republic of Korea. 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"I will wait quietly for the final results." 9:17 p.m. Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party spoke to reporters in front of his house in Gyeonggi Province: "I am sorry that I was not able to fully deliver the hopes and expectations of the younger generation. I sincerely thank the public for the support they have given me. I will continue to repay this favor and do politics. I will study and learn more through this election and further improve in the areas where I can to contribute to the Republic of Korea and politics." 8:52 p.m. Cameras following Lee Jae-myung are now showing the front of his house; almost everyone has left the venue where the Democratic Party members had gathered to watch exit polls. Lee and his party members seem to be preparing to head to Yeouido in western Seoul where the National Assembly is located. On the other hand, cameras are still showing the venue where members of Kim Moon-soo's party are watching vote counting, although Kim is not there. 8:38 p.m. The acting leader of the Democratic Party said South Koreans had made a "fiery judgment against the insurrection regime" after exit polls showed a strong lead for the party over their conservative rival, Reuters reported. Park Chan-dae made the comments to KBS TV. 8:33 p.m. Though the exit poll showed Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party garnering just 7.7% of all votes, the poll forecast him to be the top vote getter among men in their late teens and 20s. The three broadcasters projected Lee to win 37.2% of young men's votes, leading Kim Moon-soo with 36.9% and far ahead of Lee Jae-myung with 24%. It was the only group that Lee Jun-seok held a lead in, the exit poll showed. In contrast, only 10.3% of women in their late teens and 20s were projected to have voted for him. 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Kim held a narrow advantage in the 60s age group and bested Lee by 30% among voters in their 70s. 8:13 p.m. Read our main story on the election here. It will be updated throughout the evening. 8:10 p.m. Supporters of Kim Moon-soo appear to be disheartened by the projections. 8:01 p.m. Exit polls by three major broadcasters project victory for Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party, edging out his rival Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party by 51.7% to 39.3%. 8 p.m. Polls close. Now we await exit polls, projections and results. 7:42 p.m. As of 7 p.m., voter turnout stood at 77.8%, surpassing the figure recorded in the previous presidential election, according to the National Election Commission. Polls close at 8 p.m. 7:03 p.m. Less than an hour to go now. 6:46 p.m. And some photos from earlier in the day: 6:42 p.m. Celebrities are also getting involved. Jin of BTS cast his vote in Seoul this morning. Karina of the popular girl band Aespa caused a stir online last week after she posted a photo of her in a red jacket with the number 2 embedded on it. Speculators alleged she was hinting at her support for Kim Moon-soo of the PPP -- Kim's party color is red and he is No. 2 on the candidate list. She denied any correlation between her fashion choice and her political views. 6:15 p.m. Take a look at a video we took inside a voting station in Seoul earlier. 6:08 p.m. As of 6 p.m., voter turnout was recorded at 76.1%, one percentage point below the figure logged in the previous presidential election in 2022, according to the National Election Commission. The figure includes early voting that took place on Thursday and Friday. 6 p.m. Just two hours now until polls close. 5 p.m. On election day, both of the main candidates continued with messaging they had drawn on throughout the campaign, depicting themselves as bulwarks against chaos. Poll leader Lee Jae-myung wrote in a public message on Tuesday afternoon that voting was the way to save South Korea from "greed of vested interests," though he did not specify what vested interests he was referring to. "Please come forward again as citizens of the Republic of Korea, I earnestly implore you," Lee wrote. Conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo wrote a message on his Facebook page pledging to "block a monstrous dictatorship" while protecting "free democracy, the rule of law, the market economy and the [South] Korea-U.S. alliance." 2:20 p.m. As of 2 p.m., 65.5% of eligible voters had cast their ballots, which was 0.7 percentage point higher than the previous presidential election in 2022, Yonhap news agency reported, citing figures from the National Election Commission. The 2022 contest logged the highest voter turnout in the history of South Korean elections, raising the possibility of record-setting turnout in Tuesday's polls. One factor in the high turnout could be the weather, as warm temperatures and clear conditions are forecast across the country. In Seoul, the temperature currently stands at around 24C with sunshine and low levels of fine-dust air pollution, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. 1 p.m. South Korea's National Police Agency said it will station 28,590 police officers across the polling stations, according to the Yonhap news agency. Police said they would maintain the "highest level of emergency security," with all personnel on standby until the newly elected president enters office.
