Japan is selling patrol vessels to the Philippines. Is Tokyo confronting Beijing with more ‘aggressive diplomacy’?

Japan’s growing role as a security provider in Asia is necessary, with the US preoccupied with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, analysts say

A survey found Japan as the most trusted major power in the region, with an overall trust level of 58.9 per cent, particularly high across Southeast Asia

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The Philippines’ new military vessel, the BRP Melchora Aquino, arrives from Japan at the international port in Manila in 2022. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00am, 24 May 2024Updated: 11:44am, 24 May 2024

The Philippines’ purchase of Japanese patrol vessels amid growing tensions in the South China Sea is the latest indication of Tokyo’s growing role as a security provider in the region, observers say, as they point to the need to confront Beijing through deterrence and more “aggressive diplomacy”.

Analysts perceived such a role from Japan to be necessary with the United States preoccupied with two wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

The Philippine Foreign Affairs Department said on its website last Friday that Manila would purchase five patrol vessels from Japan, to be delivered between 2027 and 2028, and the purchase underscored the two countries’ “unwavering commitment to enhance our maritime safety capabilities for the benefit of our nation and the broader maritime community”.

Funded by an Official Development Aid loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency, the US$507 million deal is Tokyo’s largest to date with the Philippines’ maritime law enforcement agency.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) greets Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr before their meeting in Tokyo on December 17 last year. Photo: AP

Mark Cogan, an associate professor of peace and conflict studies at Japan’s Kansai Gaidai University, said Japan’s growing role as a security provider in the region stemmed from the need to confront China through deterrence and more “aggressive diplomacy”.