Japan, Thailand to cooperate on security issues

BANGKOK, June 8 (TNA) - Japan and Thailand have agreed to cooperate on security issues both at the bilateral and the regional levels. The agreement was reached at a meeting between visiting Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and Thai Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan at the Thai Ministry of Defence in Bangkok on June 7. During the meeting, the visiting Japanese defence minister and his Thai counterpart, who is also Thai Deputy Prime Minister overseeing national security, also exchanged views on many other issues and agreed to develop military cooperation on the basis of their long-standing strategic partnership. For military cooperation, both sides agreed with close discussions and the application of existing cooperative mechanisms, especially through their annual bilateral meetings on political and security issues. Both sides also recognised the importance of the participation of Japan’s self-defence forces in the annual Cobra Gold military exercises and agreed to proceed with multilateral exercises and promote regional stability. Besides, the Japanese side confirmed to co-chair joint exercises on humanitarian aid and disaster mitigation, while Thailand will co-chair joint military medical exercises under the framework of the ASEAN Defence Minister’s Meeting Plus this year. (TNA)