TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan pledged Tuesday to provide 380 million yen ($2.5 million) to Micronesia for undersea cable installation, aiming to strengthen communications security in the strategically important Pacific region, where China is expanding its influence.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his Micronesian counterpart, Wesley Simina, also agreed at their talks in Tokyo to cooperate to realize a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and to tackle climate change, the Japanese government said.
Japan, along with the United States and Australia, has been working on projects to connect Pacific island nations with submarine cables. While Micronesia maintains diplomatic ties with China, it relies on the United States for security and financial support.
Ishiba also thanked Simina for his trust in Japan’s measures to discharge treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific, which began in August 2023, the government said.