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Japan’s milestone export helps Philippines defend waters

Felix Kim

Japan’s sale of an advanced radar system to the Philippines will contribute to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and enable Manila to monitor illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and hostile intruders in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.

The sale marks Japan’s first major defense export since World War II as the country takes steps to increase its defense industry.

Japan Defense Minister Taro Kono said that the U.S. $100 million sale of the Horizon 2 Air Surveillance Radar System (ASRS) consists of four warning-and-control units manufactured by Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corp.

The Philippines lies “along very important sea lanes, such as the Bashi Strait and the South China Sea,” where IUU fishing is a constant challenge, Kono said August 28, 2020. “Japanese technology is useful in such places. I think it will be the first step towards mutual cooperation.”

The ASRS units are based on the J/FPS-3 and J/TPS-P14 radar systems, employed by the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The fixed-position J/FPS-3 is used in coastal regions to detect missiles and other projectiles, while the mobile J/TPS-P14, pictured, is mounted on vehicles.

Three fixed and one mobile unit will be delivered to the Philippines starting in 2022.

The ASRS will monitor southern regions of the Philippines, the southern part of the West Philippine Sea and waters surrounding the Benham Rise, an extinct volcanic ridge 250 kilometers off the east coast of Luzon, the country’s most populous island, reported the government-run Philippine Information Agency.

Kono described the sale as the first export of “completed equipment” by Japan, alluding to the ban on defense exports that was lifted in 2014 by the government of then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, according to Japan’s The Nikkei newspaper. Defense exports had been limited to shipments to the United States of components for PAC-2 mobile missile defense interceptors.

Under the 2014 policy change, Japan still prohibits defense exports to countries involved in conflicts or when they violate United Nations resolutions.

“By moving such equipment, I think that defense cooperation with various countries will be promoted, and it will also help strengthen Japan’s defense industry,” Kono said. “In addition, I think that especially in the case of warning and control radars in the Philippines, it is in line with the vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”

Felix Kim is a FORUM contributor reporting from Seoul, South Korea.

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