Japan seeks free trade pacts with India, Australia, China: Report
Afp, Tokyo
Japan plans to begin talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) with India and Australia in 2007 and with China in 2009, in a bid to play a leading role in bringing about a propsed East Asian economic grouping, a report said Tuesday. A government plan through 2010 envisages FTAs with resource-rich and food-exporting countries as part of efforts to both bolster national security and promote economic integration in East Asia, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said, without citing sources. Japan supports the inclusion of Australia and India in the East Asian Community, which was proposed at the inaugural East Asian Summit in December in Kuala Lumpur. That meeting, which came on the heels of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, saw bickering between Japan and China over their wartime past, and disagreement over the inclusion of non-Asian nations like Australia and New Zealand.
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