Japan will give Indonesia two high-speed patrol boats, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Saturday, as Tokyo seeks to boost regional maritime security cooperation in the face of growing assertiveness by China.
Ishiba made the pledge during a visit to Jakarta, where he held talks with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on a range of bilateral issues.
“We agreed on establishing working-level defence consultations on our maritime security, including on defence equipment technical cooperation,” Ishiba was quoted as saying in a joint statement.
“We also agreed to… provide high-speed patrol boats through Official Security Assistance, which would be our first with Indonesia.”
He said the two countries also agreed to cooperate in decarbonized energy sectors, such as geothermal power, hydrogen, ammonia, and biofuels.
Before arriving in Jakarta, Ishiba held talks in Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“For our foreign policy, strengthening cooperation with Southeast Asia is one of the biggest priorities,” Ishiba said.
With US encouragement as it seeks to counter China, Japan has been deepening security ties in the region.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea despite an international ruling in 2016 concluding its claims have no legal basis.
Tokyo is already providing equipment and other assistance to the Philippines, which is engaged in territorial disputes with Beijing.
Last year the Philippines ratified a key defence pact with Japan, which allows them to deploy troops on each other’s soil.
The visit to Malaysia and Indonesia marks Ishiba’s first official state visit since taking office in October.
