Japan Plans To Offer Defense Equipment To 4 Nations; Govt Eyes Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia, Djibouti

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:51 JST, November 30, 2024

The government plans to select the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia and Djibouti as target countries for the Official Security Assistance (OSA) framework, under which Japan provides defense equipment and other supplies free of charge to the armed forces of countries with shared values, for this fiscal year, according to multiple government sources.

The government is expected to provide equipment, including radars used for purposes such as vigilance and surveillance activities and air traffic control, according to the specific circumstances of each country.

The total value of the equipment to be provided to the four countries is expected to be around ¥5 billion. Japan and the other four countries are expected to sign accords soon.

With a dispute between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea getting worse, Japan plans to provide the Philippines with equipment that can be used for vigilance and surveillance activities in the air and at sea. The Philippines was chosen as a target for the OSA framework last fiscal year as well, when Japan decided to provide coastal radars.

In April, a Japan-U.S.-Philippine summit meeting was held for the first time. Japan is strengthening security ties with the Philippines with China in mind.

Japan is also coordinating to provide equipment related to air traffic control to Mongolia. The country borders China and Russia. Mongolia is focusing on developing relationships with Japan and other nearby countries other than China and Russia, as it hopes to prevent itself from relying too much on energy resources from those two countries.

Indonesia is a regional power, accounting for about one-third of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ nominal gross domestic product. Japan has been strengthening ties with Indonesia through activities such as holding a two-plus-two foreign and defense ministerial meeting in 2015, which marked the first time that Japan held such a meeting with an ASEAN member country.

Djibouti in the eastern Africa, which sits at a strategic location for international maritime traffic, hosts a base from which Japan’s Self-Defense Forces conduct anti-piracy operations as well as operations to protect and transport Japanese nationals.

With patrol vessels in mind, Japan is considering providing Indonesia and Djibouti with equipment that will contribute to maritime security.

Unlike official development assistance, the OSA framework allows the government to directly assist the armed forces of like-minded countries.

Last fiscal year, the government decided to provide four countries, including the Philippines and Fiji, with equipment under the first round of the OSA framework.

A senior government official said, “Interaction with the armed forces of other countries is deepening dramatically.”