Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries launches fourth of Mogami-class frigates, Mikuma. Credit Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
TOKYO — Japan is in talks with Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries as part of a push to export weapons and subsdystems throughout the Indo-Pacific, according to a senior defense official here, part of a campaign to increase defense industrial ties regionally.
The US ally’s main thrust is the high-profile effort to sell Australia the Mogami-class frigate, which has attracted unprecedented support from the highest reaches of the Japanese government and industry. The official, who spoke to Breaking Defense on the condition of anonymity, also pointed to a long-simmering attempt to provide technology to Indonesia for what had been described as a destroyer program. The official said Friday there were talks with other countries but declined to name them.
As for the Philippines, the Japanese defense minister publicly pledged closer defense cooperation on Feb. 24 in the wake of the persistent and aggressive pressure from China on Manila to give up some of its internationally recognized waters in the South China Sea.
Defense Minister Gen. Nakatani said during his first visit to the Philippines that the two countries believe they must “further enhance defense cooperation and collaboration in order to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific” because of the difficult security situation. That cooperation will include increased sharing of technology and the provision of weapons like the radar systems Japan recently has gifted to the Philippines. The air defense radar were installed at Wallace Air Station on the island of Luzon. Nakatani said nothing specific about weapon systems marked for eventual sale or transfer.
Taken together, Tokyo’s moves appear to be indicative of a lag between defense policy — where relations with Australia, South Korea, the Philippines and other regional players have grown substantially closer in the last two years — and weapons exports, perhaps the most concrete proof of closer cooperation between two countries.
“The defense relationship is not catching up with other areas of defense cooperation between the two nations [Australia and Japan],” the senior defense official said. “The defense cooperation has been pushed up so much, but equipment cooperation — we’ve done some joint research projects — but not this big deal yet.”
To catch up, Japan has moved swiftly to make good on its policy to begin exports. In the last year it moved from making its first appearance at an international air show, the 2024 Singapore event, to providing radars to the Philippines and engaging in a full court press to sell the Mogami to Australia, in what could be a turning point for Japan-Australia defense industry relations specifically. The Japanese government also created a joint board of senior government officials and of industry leaders late last year to coordinate policy and actions and ensure Australia, in particular, is as well informed about Japanese intentions and capabilities as possible.
Japan has proposed a $10 billion AUD ($6.6 billion USD) sale to Australia of the Mogami frigate to answer Australia’s request for bids for surface vessels to supplement the Hunter class, which are most focused on anti-submarine warfare. The Mogami, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is competing against a German offering from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (KTMS), builder of Australia’s current Anzac-class frigates. KTMS is offering the Meko A-200, an upgraded version of the 30-year-old Anzacs.
Selling the Mogami to Australia could “open up the doors to other industrial cooperation, which is attracting more and more Japanese industries interested in the Australian market,” the official said.
Closer cooperation could include the Lucky Country’s guided weapons enterprise known as GWEO (Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance). Japan has invested heavily in missile systems and has “much industrial expertise,” the senior defense official told Breaking Defense.
Outside Australia, the nascent discussions with Indonesia about supplying technology — some reports from Indonesia said the Mogami frigate was discussed — are clearly in the early stages after years of on and off talks with the previous government. With the election last year of Prabowo Subianto, the former defense minister, those discussions have restarted, the official said. But they are less focused on a destroyer than on what the official called “maritime security.”
As Prabowo’s team reviews its acquisition plans, Indonesia’s plans will come into clearer focus. “We’ll discuss maritime security with them and we’ll find out what capabilities they want and what capabilities we could provide to them,” the senior defense official averred.
