There is scarcely any other country in the Indo-Pacific region with which we share as many ties as with Japan. We are united by values and interests – and we are confronted by the same massive challenges that call into question the freedom that is fundamental to our way of life.

China’s and North Korea’s support for Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine demonstrates just how closely the security of our two regions is intertwined. The intensive peace efforts by Europe and the United States, particularly in the past few days, must now lead towards a just peace that upholds fundamental Ukrainian and European security interests. I am very grateful for Japan’s continuing support for Ukraine in its fight to defend itself against Putin’s war of aggression. In order to safeguard our freedom, Germany and Japan must, and intend to, invest more in their own security.

China’s increasingly aggressive stance in the Taiwan Strait and in the East and South China Seas also has consequences for us in Europe: basic rules of global cooperation are at stake here. We are countering this together through our commitment to an international order based on the strength of the law and on binding rules for all.

What happens in the Indo-Pacific will be crucial in determining how secure the freedom of shipping routes, global supply chains and thus the economic development of the entire world will remain. This is of outstanding importance for major exporting economies such as Germany and Japan – but also for our emerging partners in the ASEAN region, such as Indonesia.

In economic terms, we are also fundamentally facing huge tasks: China is challenging our economies with unfair, market-distorting trade practices. The United States’ tariffs policy is unsettling companies in both Europe and Asia. Only those who are strong and resilient, with diverse raw materials partners and procurement channels, can survive in such an environment. That is why Germany is working with key partners like Japan and Indonesia for economic relations that build on free trade, competition and fairness. The fact that the EU is on the final straight towards a free trade agreement with Indonesia is an important step in this context. We can learn a great deal from the global pioneer Japan, in particular when it comes to economic security.

Our freedom, our prosperity and our security – the goals that I pursue as Foreign Minister – will not be decided in Europe alone. They will be decided not least in cooperation with strong partners worldwide.