Japanese Concerns About Philippine Alliance Building and Providing Military Aid

It appears Japanese Prime Minister Abe (right), Defence Minister Nakatani (center) and Foreign Minister Kishida (left) may be alliance building with the Philippines too quickly. Naval weapons and even lower level Coast Guard aid to the Philippines may cause security and diplomatic problems over the next 30 years. Careful consultation with the Diet (Parliament) and clearance by the Diet is badly needed. (Photo courtesy gettyimages - The Asahi Shimbun).

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The growing strategic relationship between Japan and the Philippines is occurring rapidly. There has been a buildup of relations which preceded Japan’s Abe Government from 2012. Japanese perceptions of the Philippines are complex. As the following commentary indicates problems in the South China Sea are not only caused by China’s activities. The following are excerpts from a commentary by Shunji Taoka (military journalist) writing in Japan’s DIAMOND Online magazine http://diamond.jp/articles/-/74608 (originally dated July 9, 2015). The commentary was forwarded to Submarine Matters article “Japan providing Small Aircraft & Patrol Boats to the Philippines”) on November 30, 2015 in the Comments Section. Pete has further translated some of the English:

[It is Risky to form an Alliance With the Philippines Without A National Discussion in Japan]

With almost no discussion in the media or the Diet Japan is entering into alliance with the Philippines. [see http://www.mofa.go.jp/s_sa/sea2/ph/page3e_000417.html ]  Japan is donating 10 patrol boats (see photo below of what they may look like) [costing a total of US$104 million Dec 4, 2015 exchange rate]. There is a consultation of the Status of Forces Agreement between the Japanese and Philippines defence forces. Joint exercises to improve military interoperability are planned. President Benigno S. Aquino said that joint operations would be also needed in future at a press conference in Tokyo. 

Japan seems to satisfying the US request of covering the defense of the Philippines in the confrontation with China over the Spratly Islands. But the Japan-Philippines alliance is lacks real strength and the Philippines is at risk of confrontation with China.

Prime Minister Abe inherited the decision of the previous Administration (of the Democratic Party of Japan, last in power 2009-2012). Abe met with Philippine President Aquino in Manila in July 2013, and committed to donate the 10 patrol boats (44m in length, 200 tons in weight) under the official development assistance (ODA). The Philippines also asked for two large patrol ships (100m in length, 1800 tons in weight) to be donated to the Philippine Navy. There has been no agreement on 100m ships. The Japanese government is concerned such 100m ships would be seen by China as weapons that would escalate tensions.

While the Japanese public has a negative attitude to the export of weapons, it is indifferent to the donation of weapons. But donation is more troublesome than exports. Exporting weapons is a business transaction while donation is military aid and is regarded by China as a hostile political act by Japan. Japan therefore needs to show exceptionally careful judgement when donating weapons.

In particular, the Philippine Coast Guard tends to fire on neighbours too easily. In May 2013 a Philippine Coast Guard vessel fired 48 shots at a Taiwanese fishing boat and killed one Taiwanese fisherman in waters north of Luzon, Philippines. This was in the 200 mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. The Philippine Coast Guard also killed one Taiwanese fisherman in 1996 and one Chinese fisherman in 2000. Due to this record Japan should be careful donating vessels to the Philippine Coast Guard.

Japan should also be careful in donating patrol vessels to the Philippines because, unlike land weapons, naval vessels are very conspicuous. Vessels also last 30 years, a period that may involve major changes in international relations between the Philippines and China. As Japan may be seen as the donor of weapons to the Philippine China may blame Japan.

ANONYMOUS COMMENT

As the US is a former colonial power and from 1951 signed has the Mutual Defense Treaty US-Philippines, the US wants to be good to the Philippines

However, the US wants to avoid a decisive confrontation with China because of the US’s huge economic relations with China. When the Philippines requested maritime defense assistance from the US, the US provided a 46 year old Hamilton-class coastguard cutter and a 20 year old Cyclone-class patrol boat. In contrast it appears the US requested Japan to donate new patrol boats to the Philippines.

Japan’s donation of the patrol boats to the Philippines and future military aid is expensive for Japan and raises very sensitive security and diplomatic issues for Japan. According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Three Principles of Defense Equipment Transfer http://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/press22e_000010.html does not need Diet [Parliamentary] approval. Other matters the MOFA believes do not require Diet approval are:

-          the provision/donation of military aid [also called official development assistance (ODA)] and

-          the Status of Forces Agreement with the Philippines.

This situation allows the Philippines to receive items with military potential from Japan. The Philippines can then add parts or modifications to make these items weapons. The Philippines therefore has a strategic alliance relationship with Japan.

It is wrong and regrettable that Japan can form alliances without discussion occurring in the Diet. It is also wrong that the Japanese public are not informed or consulted about this alliance building. Japan’s Diet opposition parties and the media should be made aware of this serious situation. 

Will the 10 x 40 meter class patrol boats Japan is building for the Philippines be developments of the Bizen (aka Raizan) class (above) . The Bizan/Raizans weighs 200 tons and are 46 m long. (Photo courtesy DDmurasame).
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Bizen (aka Bizan or Raizan) Boat Details 

S, in Comments, on December 4, 2015, 10:47PM, provided specifications on the Bizen/Raizon patrol boat a picture of Official Development Assistance (ODA) patrol boat  Japan is building for the Philippines. 

The major difference between the Bizen used by Japan and the projected ODA-Philippines patrol boat is the Bizen is fitted with a 20mm Gatling gun (rotary cannon) while the ODA patrol boat, as delivered to the Philippines will have no armament. The Bizen boat will have a more powerful diesel engine than the ODA boat. Three ODA patrol boats (highly Japan subsidized, totalling US$15.4 million) were already donated to Indonesia in the past, and this type of aid by Japan has a good reputation. 

Specifications of the Bizen, based on Japanese version of wikipedia, as used by the Japan Coast Guard (Not the slightly smaller ODA boat for the Philippines):

Price: about US$19 million (Price based on FY2015 budget request of Japan Coast Guard.)

Weight: 197 tons, Length: 46.0m, Depth: 46.0m, Beam: 7.5m, Draft: 1.65m 
Propulsion: Niigata Engineering 16PA4V-200VGA (3,500hp) type diesel engine x 3, two shaft and a water jet, output power 9,400 hp/7,000 kW 
Speed 35knots
Crew 15
Armament: JM61-RFS (Remote Firing System) 20mm Gatling gun (rotary cannon) x 1. A gun of this type proved powerful, in the Battle of Amami-Ōshima between an armed North Korean spy ship and a Japanese patrol boat.
Fire control system: RFS gun director
Navigation radar
Infrared monitor

An artist’s rendering of the ODA-Philippines patrol boat is on page 3 of http://www.marubeni.co.jp/news/2015/release/20150604J.pdf

Pete