Transport minister Wee Ka Siong said, “The ATM+Japan meeting is close to concluding a more liberal and mutually beneficial Asean-Japan Air Services Agreement with a view to enhancing the air transport relationship between Asean and Japan.”

Japan’s parliamentary land, infrastructure, transport and tourism vice-minister Shoji Nishida co-chaired the meeting with Indonesia’s transportation minister Budi Karya Sumadi, he said in his Facebook post today.

He added that Malaysia was offering to continue hosting vessel traffic system training for Asean member states at the Maritime Training Institute in Port Klang, Selangor.

Established in 2017, the institute plays an important platform in the region to help harness a participant’s capabilities in maritime safety and security.

The training programmes under the Asean-Japan Transport Partnership Work Plan 2022-2023 is supported by the Japanese government in its effort to assist the region in terms of transport cooperation to Asean over the past 20 years.

“Japan’s efforts have resulted in establishing the Aviation Security framework, which allows Asean and Japan to work together to improve and effectively implement security measures in a post-Covid world,” Wee said.

In terms of maritime security, he said Japan has produced a booklet on best practices for port security that will serve as a useful guide to port operators in building their capabilities to ensure the security of the region’s port facilities and operations.