TOKYO, January 29 ------ Japan will expand an unprecedented military aid program, the first of its kind since World War II, to help the armed forces of like-minded countries like the Philippines deter threats to the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific, where alarm has grown over China’s aggressive actions.
Since Japan established the Official Security Assistance in April 2023, as it seeks a larger security role in the region, the Philippines has been the biggest recipient of the non-combat military assistance, with the Philippine Navy receiving coastal surveillance radars to improve its maritime domain awareness.
Countries which are in a new priority list to receive the OSA for military equipment and infrastructure totaling 8 or 9 billion yen this fiscal year, which starts April, include the Philippines along with Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Mongolia, a senior official of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs who is involved in the OSA program, told GMA News Online in a briefing in Tokyo. “Considering the trajectory of Japan's assistance policy or security policy, this kind of program is unprecedented and supporting foreign countries’ military has long been prohibited,” said the Japanese MOFA official said, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity because of sensitivities over the security program. “It brings about a new stream of Japan security policy,” the official said and added that regional powerhouses like Australia and China have also provided similar security assistance on a larger scale. “It’s the first time for Japan so even if the scale is not that big, it's symbolic.”
In explaining the rationale for establishing the OSA, Japan’s MOFA said then that the country “is finding itself in the midst of the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II.” “It is essential for us to drastically strengthen our own defense capabilities as well as enhance the security and deterrence capabilities of like-minded countries in order to prevent unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, ensure the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region, in particular, and create a security environment desirable for Japan.”
Source: gmanetwork.com
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