Photo: IC

Japan and the European Union are reportedly to jointly hold a seminar for Southeast Asian coast guard officials on how to deal with "gray-zone situations," Japan's NHK revealed, saying this will be the first such seminar to be jointly held by Japan and the EU.

This move, characterized by a clear military alliance and expansionist tendency, is viewed by a Chinese expert as a trial start for Tokyo and Brussels to expand its influence in the region.

NHK quoted EU sources as saying on Monday that Japan and EU will work with Thailand to hold the two-day seminar in Bangkok from Tuesday next week.

Officials from five Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam, will be given advice on "how to respond to situations that fall short of armed attacks."

Topics will include the importance of coast guards, not military personnel, following domestic laws when dealing with vessels that enter territorial waters to prevent tense situations from developing. The seminar will also explain to participants how they can apply international law when dealing with damage to undersea cables. Cases of suspected sabotage of such cables have been reported in Europe, per NHK.

The report also said one of the sources referred to concerns over China's maritime moves, and stressed the need for countries that share the same values to work together to uphold the rule of law.

The cooperation between Japan and EU, the first of its kind, is tinted with an obvious military alliance and expansionist tendency, Lü Chao, an expert on East Asian studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday. "It shows that Tokyo and Brussels have found a 'point of converging interest' in Southeast Asia under the guise of countering China," Lü said.

It is also unusual for the EU, which focuses primarily on political and economic affairs in Europe, to participate in such a seminar in Southeast Asia, said Lü. He said that currently, EU countries have shown more and more expansionism and tried to enhance their presence outside of the continent, especially on Southeast Asia, a region with robust economic growth.

Lü said that Japan and EU's seminar on how to deal with "gray-zone situations" may serve as a trial start, and then will likely develop into something of more strategic significance.