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Japan offers official development assistance to Philippine military
The supply of the equipment, also available for civilian use, is intended to strengthen defense ties with the Philippines as the two countries are faced with China's assertive claims in the East and South China seas.
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Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces resume a search operation for a disapeared Japanese military jet carrying six airmen, in Kanoya city, Kagoshima prefecture, southern Japan, Thursday. (Kyodo News via AP/Sadayuki Goto)
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apan has begun providing the Philippine military with lifesaving equipment adopted by the Self-Defense Forces, defense and foreign ministry officials have said, making it the first time that Tokyo has offered SDF equipment to a foreign armed force using its official development assistance.
The supply of the equipment, also available for civilian use, is intended to strengthen defense ties with the Philippines as the two countries are faced with China's assertive claims in the East and South China seas.
The aid was made possible following Japan's policy shift in its 2015 foreign aid charter that enabled the government to use ODA to support foreign armed forces in noncombat areas such as disaster relief, infrastructure building and coast guard activities.
Closer defense ties between Tokyo and Manila came on top of a $100 million agreement in August last year that allows Mitsubishi Electric Corp. to export an air radar system to the Philippines armed forces.
The latest deal involves ODA totaling 120 million yen ($1.1 million) for the delivery of disaster-relief tools including jackhammers, sonars, and engine cutters among others, according to the Defense Ministry.
After the delivery is completed, Ground Self-Defense Force personnel will be sent to train units of the Philippine forces in their use, the ministry said.
Japan has been stepping up defense and security cooperation with the Philippines, one of the countries involved in territorial disputes with China, whose militarization of disputed outposts in the South China Sea is stoking concerns about peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
"We hope the provision of the aid will deepen bilateral relations with the strategically important regional partner," a Foreign Ministry official said.
Between 2016 and 2018, the Philippines commissioned into service a total of 10 Japanese-made 44-meter-long patrol vessels to add to its coast guard fleet through a Japanese foreign aid loan.
Two more such ships measuring 94 meters in length are set to be deployed around 2022.
