Photo/Illutration A Japan Coast Guard patrol boat during an exercise off Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in October (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

To bolster deterrence capabilities against China, the Foreign Ministry plans to offer security aid of about 5 billion yen ($34.1 million) to six “like-minded” countries, including Vietnam and Indonesia, in fiscal 2024, sources said.

That is double the amount earmarked for four nations in the current fiscal year.

The aid will be offered in official security assistance (OSA), which was introduced this fiscal year to help countries that share diplomatic and other goals improve warning and surveillance capabilities over their territories as well as in areas of anti-terrorism and anti-piracy.

Specifically, the program will provide defense equipment, such as satellite communication systems, radar equipment and patrol boats, and offer other forms of aid, such as building ports for military-civilian use, free of charge.

The government hopes to help enhance the defense capabilities of these friendly countries, primarily developing nations, as a bulwark against an increasingly assertive China.

In the current fiscal year, the Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Fiji are expected to receive aid, and 2 billion yen has been allocated in the initial government budget.

The Foreign Ministry expects to secure about 5 billion yen in fiscal 2024, including 2.1 billion yen it will request by the Aug. 31 deadline, sources said.

Ministry officials are considering the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia and Djibouti as recipients because they are all geopolitically important partners for Japan, the sources said.

The Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia are facing China’s expansionist activities in the South China Sea. Papua New Guinea is among the Pacific island nations where China is flexing its muscle. Mongolia is China’s northern neighbor, and Djibouti hosts the only overseas outpost of the Self-Defense Forces.

“‘A balance of power’ is necessary to coexist with China, not antagonize it,” said Tsutomu Kikuchi, a scholar of international politics and professor emeritus at Aoyama Gakuin University. “(The OSA) will help encourage China to exercise restraint and lead to peace and security in the region.”

The government hopes to bring developing nations closer to the fold of the United States, Europe and Japan and away from China through the OSA.

But it remains to be seen whether developing nations, many of which are closely linked to China economically, will play Japan’s game.

In addition, the government and the ruling parties are reviewing the nation’s three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology to broaden the scope of weapons that Japan can export.

The OSA could escalate regional tensions if the scope of defense equipment that Japan can provide also expands.

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