Japan's new PM aim to push 'free and open Indo-Pacific' vision in South-East Asia

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and and his wife Mariko preparing to leave Haneda airport in Tokyo on Sunday (Oct 19,2020). Suga left Sunday on his first overseas foray since taking over from his former boss Shinzo Abe last month, heading to Vietnam and Indonesia. - AP

TOKYO, Oct 18 (AP): Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, left Sunday on his first overseas foray since taking over from his former boss Shinzo Abe last month, heading to Vietnam and Indonesia.

The choice to visit Southeast Asia underscores Japan’s efforts to counter Chinese influence and build stronger economic and defense ties in the region, much in line with Abe’s vision of a "free and open Indo-Pacific" that he had pushed with Washington.