Prime Minister Ishiba of Japan "will not propose Asian version of NATO in Laos"

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would not propose the "Asian version of NATO" initiative at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and ASEAN summits, his first diplomatic stage since taking office.

According to Kyodo News, Ishiba told reporters before leaving for Laos that "there has not been enough discussion within the Liberal Democratic Party" and that the Asian version of NATO, which he has usually expressed as his theory, "has no intention of proposing."

Prime Minister Ishiba will make an official visit to Laos from the 10th to the 12th.Prime Minister Ishiba held his first summit with President ∀ during his visit to Laos
and is also holding individual talks with Prime Minister Li Chang of the State Council of China and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ishiba told a news conference at home and abroad after the dissolution of the House of Representatives that he had "instructed the Liberal Democrats to consider ways of guaranteeing security in Asia" with the Asian version of NATO in mind, Jiji news agency reported.

At the meeting, the prime minister stressed that he would "lead efforts to ensure regional safety and stability," citing China and Russia's invasion of airspace and North Korea's missile launch.

It also ordered the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to consider revising the U.S.-Japan Status Agreement, it added.