Overview
- A record 28 countries took part in the Tokyo meeting, with the Philippines and six other ASEAN members attending as observers for the first time.
- Japan announced a fiscal 2026 next-generation leadership security program to bring junior- and mid-level Pacific defense officials to Japan for training and exchanges at Self-Defense Forces facilities.
- Shinjiro Koizumi held separate talks with Tonga, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea, agreeing to draft memoranda to deepen defense cooperation.
- In his keynote, Koizumi urged cooperation to keep seas free and open and said attempts to change the status quo by force must not be tolerated.
- Participants discussed securing sea lanes, maritime security, and humanitarian disaster response, as well as joint efforts on climate change, illegal fishing, infectious diseases, cyberattacks, and the malicious use of AI.