Abe 'to deliver reassuring message' on security policy

THE keynote speech that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is due to give this evening at the Shangri-La Dialogue meeting in Singapore will enable him "to deliver a reassuring message" concerning his government's new security policy, said officials.

The policy of making a "proactive contribution to peace" by giving a more active role to Japan's Self-Defence Forces in various situations should serve to lower regional tensions rather than raise them, a Japanese foreign ministry official said in Tokyo yesterday.

The Shangri-La Dialogue is a forum for civilian and military chiefs from Asean, the US and Australia to discuss issues of regional security and defence cooperation and is organised by the International Institute for Strategic studies (IISS).