Bangkok (Reuters) – The leaders of Japan and Thailand announced a new defense agreement on Monday as well as plans to upgrade their economic relations, as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wrapped up the last leg of a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia. The agreement would facilitate the transfer of defense hardware and technology from Japan to Thailand, which has one of the region’s biggest and most equipped armies and a long history of ties with the United States military. “This will help improve national defense and support investment from Japan in this activity which is an important goal for Thailand,” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said in a joint statement read alongside Kishida. Prayuth said he discussed improvements in supply chains and the drafting of a five-year economic partnership with Japan, Thailand’s biggest investor. The region remains a battleground between the United States, Japan’s close ally, and rival China, Southeast Asia’s biggest trade partner.
