Japan Expands Defense Equipment Aid to Eight Countries, Including Indonesia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Japan's government plans to provide defense equipment aid to eight countries, including Thailand, Tonga, and Indonesia, as part of its security assistance efforts for the current fiscal year.

This initiative aims to ensure safe shipping lanes in the Indo-Pacific region amid increasing Chinese military activities, government sources confirmed on Friday, as reported by Antara on Saturday.

The eight nations slated to receive this aid are East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Tonga. These countries will be included in Japan's "official security assistance" (OSA) scheme, which is designed for like-minded partner countries and will be applicable starting from fiscal year 2025, which begins next April.

Japan is considering providing Japanese-made unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to recipient countries. These drones would be used for natural disaster relief missions and maritime surveillance.

The OSA scheme was initially launched by Japan in April 2023 to help developing countries bolster their defense capabilities in response to growing concerns over China's expanding military maneuvers in the sea and air.

In the two previous fiscal years, up to 2024, countries such as Bangladesh, Djibouti, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, and the Philippines were designated as OSA aid recipients.

Last May, Japan made its inaugural delivery under the OSA framework, providing a rescue ship and surveillance equipment to the Fijian Navy.

For the initial budget plan for fiscal year 2025, Japan has allocated 8.1 billion yen, or approximately Rp910.7 billion, for OSA aid. This marks an increase from 2 billion yen or about Rp224.8 billion in fiscal year 2023 and 5 billion yen or about Rp562.2 billion in fiscal year 2024.

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