Japan, Malaysia Condemn Russian Invasion
The foreign ministers of Japan and Malaysia have denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and agreed to cooperate in dealing with its economic impact.
Japan's Hayashi Yoshimasa met with Saifuddin Abdullah from Malaysia in Tokyo on Wednesday.
They confirmed their standpoint of denying unilateral changes to the status quo by force in any region. They agreed to work together in handling rising prices and other impacts on the global economy from the Russian aggression.
Hayashi said Japan strongly opposes attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo in the East and South China seas, as well as economic coercion. He apparently had in mind actions by China, which is stepping up its hegemony in the region.
The two ministers confirmed the countries will continue working together to maintain maritime peace and prosperity.
They also discussed North Korea, which test-fired ballistic missiles on Wednesday. They agreed to cooperate in dealing with the country's nuclear and missile development and abduction of foreign nationals.
Earlier, Hayashi met with Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. They welcomed a US announcement to start talks to launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF, and agreed to work together on the matter.