Laos-Japan Relations in the Spotlight

On March 6, Laos’ Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone paid a five-day visit to Japan, where he met leading officials including Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. The meeting highlighted the ongoing efforts by both sides to further boost their cooperation to seize new opportunities and address existing challenges.

Though the Laos-Japan relationship has existed for more than 50 years, the past few have seen a renewed effort by both sides to improve ties. For Japan, this is part of a broader effort to advance ties with Southeast Asian states since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s return to office in December 2012. From Tokyo’s perspective, there are clear converging interests between ASEAN and Japan, including new opportunities for Japanese businesses in Southeast Asia, concerns about China’s rising assertiveness in the East China Sea and South China Sea, and common challenges in fields like cybersecurity.

For Laos, the tiny, landlocked Southeast Asian state is looking to develop its economy and forge closer ties with major powers. As of last year, it is led by Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, who had served as the country’s foreign minister for a decade. He is known for his internationalist outlook, seeking to diversify the country’s relationships beyond neighboring China. As is often the case with ASEAN states, Japan has been an obvious candidate for foreign policy diversification.

Little surprise, then, that we have seen both sides try to strengthen their bilateral relationship. The momentum for this has been building but got a significant boost last year when Laos’ chairmanship of ASEAN saw Abe visit the Southeast Asian state. The two countries are looking to make further strides this year, and Sonexay’s visit to Tokyo this month was a case in point.

In typical fashion, economic issues were at the top of the agenda. Japan is one of the top investors and providers of economic assistance to Laos. Last year, Japan and Laos unveiled a new joint development cooperation plan focused on three pillars: strengthening connectivity with countries in the region based on wider Japanese initiatives around quality infrastructure and the Mekong River; developing human resources; and rectifying economic disparities through balanced, sustainable development. During his meeting with Sonexay, Kishida made reference to the implementation of the plan, which would be contingent on several factors including the investment environment in Laos.

For Sonexay, a key ask was progress on the realization of direct flights between the two countries with the entry into force of an Air Services Agreement last May. Beyond that, Sonexay also delivered a lecture at a seminar on investment, trade, and tourism promotion in Laos organized by the ASEAN-Japan Center and JETRO with support from the Japanese foreign ministry. According to The Vientiane Times, he also received courtesy visits from leading companies and organizations, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Japanese-Lao Friendship Association, Narita International Airport Corp, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Tokyo Electric Power Company, and Prozza.

In contrast to the economic realm, there were few notable developments on the security side. This is in part because that dimension of the relationship is much less mature, focused around initiatives such as Japanese financial and technological assistance on unexploded ordnance (UXO) and some capacity-building in sectors like cybersecurity.

But it is also because some of the issues are sensitive. For example, though Japan has been firm in condemning China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea given that this same behavior also manifests itself in the East China Sea, Laos, as a non-claimant in the South China Sea disputes, has been much more careful for fear of incurring Beijing’s wrath. No surprise, then, that we did not see the issue make headlines. It was not discussed, save for a brief mention in the official Japanese foreign ministry press release following the meeting between Sonexay and Kishida. Similarly, little was said about the foreign policy dimension of the meeting between Sonexay and Suga beyond the fact that they had discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest.

There was also a people-to-people component of the visit, with Sonexay visiting the Lao Embassy in Tokyo and meeting with Lao students and other Lao people living in Japan. Though it rarely makes the headlines, Japan has invested in this aspect of the relationship too. This includes support for primary and secondary education through the Laos-Japan Center at the National University as well as other scholarships and training programs in Laos.

Within the broader context of Japan’s ASEAN charm offensive, Laos often gets overlooked amid the sensationalist headlines on the South China Sea and cybersecurity. Sonexay’s trip to Tokyo was a useful reminder that Japan’s engagement with the subregion in general and Vientiane in particular is in fact far wider and deeper than the hype often suggests.