Foreign Minister of Japan, Taro Kono has urged Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to cooperate under the “free and open Indo-Pacific strategy” advocated by the Japanese government.

This move of Kono was prompted by the Japanese government’s vigilance against China which has been increasing its influence in these countries in the last few years through financial and other forms of assistance.

In the recent visit to Maldives by Japanese Foreign Minister, he met his Maldivian counter part Mohammed Asim and said that Japan views the Maldives as a strategically important point in the sea-lanes that connect Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and intends to support its social development in terms of the environment and other areas.

Before traveling to the Maldives, Kono on Thursday visited Islamabad, where he met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and told him infrastructure improvement is an important part of Japan’s assistance.

The following day, Kono visited Sri Lanka’s largest city, Colombo, and inspected Colombo Port, which has the largest container volume in South Asia. He conveyed to the Sri Lankan government Japan’s intention to participate in a project to expand the cargo terminal.

In his visit Kono promised all three countries with assistance in infrastructure development. He made this pledge at a time China is investing billions in these three countries.