POLICY & DIPLOMACYTOWARD A

FREE ANDOPEN
INDO-PACIFIC

The MCT is a group of professionals with specialistskills. The team provides customized training basedon the requests from recipient countries.

As the balance of power in the world becomes increasingly complex, Japanaims to promote peace, stability, and prosperity across the Indo-Pacific region
by establishing a free, open, and rules-based international order in the region.
While the Indo-Pacific region
has been the engine of theeconomic growth of the entire
world, it has faced a variety ofthreats in recent years including
piracy, terrorism, and illegal
fishing. To ensure the stability
and prosperity that the region has
enjoyed, it is important to firmly
uphold fundamental principles

NOHARA Masako (left) completed the MSP
program, and YOSHIOKA Yu (right) works
with the MCT. Yoshioka became the first female
dispatch officer, and shares her experiences
gained in the field with participating countries.

of the international community,
such as free trade, freedom ofnavigation and the rule of law.
Guided by this philosophy, Japanworks together with other likeminded countries to achieve afree and open Indo-Pacific. Japanplaces great importance on afuture international order in theIndo-Pacific region that is freeand open.
Located in the center of the
Indo-Pacific region, ASEAN isthe cornerstone of those efforts
to achieve a free and open IndoPacific. Based on this recognition,
Prime Minister SUGA Yoshihide
visited Viet Nam and Indonesia inOctober 2020 as his first overseas
visit after assuming office. ASEAN
and Japan are together aiming torealize fundamental principles
such as the rule of law, openness
and transparency in the IndoPacific region, and Japan, as an
Indo-Pacific country, announced
that it will work steadily toward
a free and open Indo-Pacificwhile acting in close cooperation
with Viet Nam, Indonesia andthe other ASEAN countries.
Earlier in the same month, theSecond
Japan-Australia-IndiaU.S. Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
was held in Tokyo. There, the four
Ministers concurred on further
developing practical cooperationin various areas such as quality
infrastructure, maritime security,
counterterrorism, humanitarianassistance, and disaster relief. TheMinisters also reaffirmed their

Record of countries involved in MCT
dispatches and the master’s degree
program in JapanCountries to which the MCT has
been dispatched
Countries enrolling students in theMSP program
Both of the above

20Speedboat training for the Philippine Coast Guard
in 2017 (the white hull was provided by Japan).

strong support for ASEAN’s
centrality and unity as well as theASEAN-led regional architecture,underlining their full support
for the “ASEAN Outlook on
the Indo-Pacific.” They also
welcomed proactive efforts byother countries including Europe
toward a free and open IndoPacific.
Playing an important role incollaborating with countries
to build a free and open rulesbased international order is, forexample, the Japan Coast Guard( JCG), established in 1948. After
providing assistance over several
decades to improve coast guard
capabilities based on the requests
from other countries, the JCG
established a specialized team
named the Mobile Cooperation
Team (MCT) in October 2017.
MCT members with expertiseand skills in such areas assearch and rescue, maritime law
enforcement, and environmental
disaster prevention are dispatched

to Indo-Pacific countries to giveintensive training.
The JCG also set up theMaritime Safety and Security
Policy Program (MSP), a master’s
degree program for junior coast
guard officers from coast guards
across Asian countries that helps
develop human resources for
those countries. In this one-year
program, junior coast guard
officers, together with juniorofficers from the JCG, takecourses in international law,international relations, maritime
police policy, and other relevant
subjects at the National Graduate
Institute for Policy Studies andthe Japan Coast Guard Academy.
A total of 47 officers haveenrolled in the MSP since theprogram started in 2015. Glen
B. Daraug, one of the firstgeneration alumnus from thePhilippine Coast Guard, says, “InJapan, I was able to develop theskills of decisiveness, dynamism,and advanced knowledge. We
can continue to safeguard the sea
that links us together and ensure
the maritime order in accordancewith international law.”
A single country alone cannot
deal with cross-border crimes atsea and maintaining worldwide
maritime order is a difficult task.
Through cooperation with othercountries, Japan will continue
to promote the vision of a free
and open Indo-Pacific with thegreatest priority on realizing thevalues of “free and open.”

Prime Minister Suga visited Viet Nam and Indonesia on his first overseas visit. Japan concurred with both countries towork together toward a free and open Indo-Pacific region for a peaceful and prosperous future of the region.
Left: Met with H.E. Mr. NGUYEN Xuan Phuc, the Prime Minister of Viet Nam.
Right: Met with H.E. Ir. H. Joko Widodo, the President of Indonesia.

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