Japan PM Kishida announces new Indo-Pacific plan in India
Associated PressNEW DELHI — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday invited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for the Group of Seven summit in May and announced action plans for a new Indo-Pacific initiative aimed at countering China’s influence in the region. China’s territorial claims in the East China and South China seas have rattled Beijing’s smaller neighbors in Southeast Asia as well as Japan, which is also facing threats from North Korea’s nuclear and missile development. In his statement, Kishida said he told Modi that he hopes to take up challenges at the summit including upholding the rules-based international order and strengthening partnership with the international community that goes beyond G-7 and includes the Global South, a term used for developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In an article for the Indian Express newspaper Monday, Kishida said “the foundation of order in the international community was shaken by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine” and its impact on food access and fertilizer prices were felt everywhere, including in the Indo-Pacific region.