The WSJ reports,"Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid out an assertive foreign policy agenda, saying he hoped to accelerate maritime aid to Vietnam amid its territorial standoff with China and host Vladimir Putin this year despite the Russian president's isolation from the West.
Beijing's "unilateral drilling activities" for oil in waters claimed also by Hanoi have led to "heightening of tensions," Mr. Abe told The Wall Street Journal in an interview Friday. "We will never tolerate the change of status quo by force or coercion," added the Japanese leader, who has assiduously courted Southeast Asian leaders during the past year and offered himself as a counterweight to China's muscle-flexing.
As part of his broader strategy to rearrange the region's power balance, Mr. Abe also signaled a desire to keep alive his diplomatic overtures to Russia. He condemned Russia's annexation of portions of Ukraine and noted that Japan has imposed sanctions in coordination with the U.S. and Europe. But he made clear that he also hoped to maintain the dialogue he has intensified through five summit meetings with Mr. Putin, more than Mr. Abe has had with any other head of state.
"Regarding the visit to Japan by President Putin, I agreed with the president that we should carry it out in autumn of this year," Mr. Abe said. The two leaders have agreed to accelerate talks over a long-elusive peace treaty from World War II. Mr. Abe hopes to win return of Japanese islands seized at the end of the war, get further access to Russian energy and win a new partner in his bid to contain China.
Mr. Putin was less welcoming to Japan, however, telling foreign journalists Saturday that Tokyo's sanctions against Russia surprised him and left him unsure whether Japan was ready for talks.
Mr. Abe's remarks came a day before tensions flared anew in Japan's dispute with China over a small group of islands in the East China Sea as well as the surrounding airspace. Twice on Saturday, Chinese fighter jets flew perilously close to Japanese reconnaissance craft, leading both governments to file protests. Japan said China's actions were "meant to intimidate," while China said Japan had "carried out dangerous actions, in serious violation of international laws."
The weekend exchange underscored a theme of Mr. Abe's administration—that the region around Japan is increasingly dangerous, and that Tokyo has no choice but to embrace a more muscular foreign policy in response. Since taking office in December 2012, Mr. Abe, 59 years old, has tried to remake the image of a country long defined by passive diplomacy and its role as a junior ally to the U.S.
As part of that campaign, Mr. Abe on Friday will deliver the keynote speech to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore, the first Japanese prime minister to do so.
But Mr. Abe has struggled at times to sell his agenda. In mid-May he announced plans to move forward with a proposal to reinterpret Japan's postwar pacifist constitution in a way that would loosen some of the tight restrictions on Japan's military. His goal is to make Japan a more equal partner with the U.S. in policing Asia, a change the American military has encouraged as China boosts its defense spending while the Pentagon faces cutbacks.
"It's difficult for the general public to understand. And there is strong opposition," Mr. Abe acknowledged.
