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In a dangerous world, Japan sharpens its foreign policy weapon
A more hard-nosed strategic approach is loosening the fetters guiding the use of foreign aid, including military aid.
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The Japan Coast Guard vessel Akitsushima (foreground) taking part in the Kaagapay trilateral drills with Philippine and US Coast Guard ships in June.
PHOTO: PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD
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TOKYO – Picture this: As tensions escalate between China and the Philippines over a bitterly contested shoal in the South China Sea, Manila pushes back against Chinese coast guard ships in the area by sending its own vessels fitted with not only surveillance radar equipment supplied by Japan, but also Japanese-made anti-ship missiles.
The latter element in the hypothetical scenario – the made-in-Japan missiles – is not possible currently because of Japan’s self-imposed laws that bar the export of lethal weapons. But these restraints are being loosened in line with a paradigm shift in policy thinking on the purpose of foreign aid.
