By SHINO MATSUYAMA/ Staff Writer
December 3, 2024 at 18:47 JST
The sign announcing the Foreign Ministry building in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Japan plans to provide defense equipment and other support to the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia and Djibouti under its Official Security Assistance program for fiscal 2024, government sources said.
The program, which incurs no cost on the part of the recipient nations, is designed to strengthen security ties with like-minded nations.
The Philippines, a fiscal 2023 recipient that disputes territorial claims in the South China Sea with Beijing, is set to receive coastal surveillance radar again this fiscal year to enhance its maritime security capabilities.
The agreement with the Philippines is expected to be signed by the end of this year.
Japan introduced the OSA program in April 2023 to help counter China’s growing military presence in the region.
The government wants to help nations that share the same values and similar diplomatic challenges so they can improve their security capabilities and deterrence.
It is unlike Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is aimed at supporting economic and social development in the recipient nations, but limits support for foreign military forces to areas such as disaster relief.
The government allocated approximately 5 billion yen ($33 million) for the OSA program in the fiscal 2024 budget, a 2.5-fold increase from the previous fiscal year.
On-site surveys and hearings were undertaken in candidate countries before the four countries were selected.
All of them are geopolitically significant for Japan.
Indonesia is viewed as a bulwark to China’s maritime expansion in the South China Sea, while Mongolia, located to China’s north, is often called its “backyard.” Djibouti in Africa hosts Japan’s only overseas base for the Self-Defense Forces.
The government plans to sign agreements with these three countries early next year.
Tokyo is also considering continued support beyond fiscal 2025 for the Philippines, which has been selected for the second consecutive year.
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