CHINA WATCHJapan Military Aid Expands Southeast Asia Footprint
A new security assistance scheme is allowing Japan to expand its role in helping smaller countries like the Philippines cope with China’s military ambitions.
Earlier in November, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kushida met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for talks that included deepening cooperation on defense.
Under Japan’s new aid scheme, known as the Official Security Assistance (OSA), the Philippine Navy will receive $4 million (€3.7 million) worth of coastal surveillance radars.
The military aid is the first to be released under the OSA, which aims to provide non-lethal military aid, including communication infrastructure, such as radars and satellite systems, along with materials to build port infrastructure.
Kishida also met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur. “We agreed to accelerate adjustments toward the implementation of the OSA,” Kishida said in a press statement, without elaborating on specifics.
Japan Lending a Strategic Hand in Southeast Asia
Japan launched the OSA in April as a diplomatic tool designed to assist “like-minded” countries across the Indo-Pacific region with defense aid as their security challenges continue to grow.
The Philippines, in particular, has been involved in a years-long dispute with China over Beijing’s claim over large swathes of the South China Sea under the so-called nine-dash line.
Tensions have continued despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling, which sided with the Philippines and stated that China’s claims were not recognized under international law.
This year, the Chinese Coast Guard has confronted Philippine fishing vessels on numerous occasions in disputed waters. This comes on top of China’s development of shoals and reefs into military bases, complete with airstrips.
The United States also opposes Beijing’s claims and regularly operates “freedom of navigation” air and sea missions through the waters to underline its position.
Similarly, Japan views China’s claims in the South China Sea as baseless and a threat to sea lanes that it relies on for imports and exports, most critically of energy, from the Middle East.
“China’s occupation of many of the islands and then the military build-up there from around 2013 really was the turning point for many of the states of Southeast Asia, but it also really made Japan understand what it was up against,” Go Ito, a professor of international relations at Tokyo’s Meiji University, told DW.
Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all have claims – sometimes competing – over the scattered islands, Ito added.
Japan Steps in as Friction with China Grows
For decades, Japan had worked hard to build ties with the nations of South-East Asia through development assistance and trade agreements. The OSA expands on Official Development Assistance (ODA), which extended Japanese influence in developing countries though non-strategic aid.
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