Carefully picking countries for security aid odd way for Tokyo to mend ties with Beijing

The Japanese government has announced the inclusion of the Philippines, Mongolia, Djibouti and Indonesia as recipients of Japan's official security assistance, or OSA, in fiscal year 2024, which not only reveals how Japan is drifting farther away from its postwar military and foreign policy, but also exposes its deep strategic intention to contain China, while threatening peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and increasing the potential of escalating conflicts in the region.

Unlike government development assistance that is limited to nonmilitary areas, the OSA program covers direct military equipment supply and infrastructure construction assistance under a mechanism launched by Japan for "like-minded countries". The addition of the four countries lays bare Japan's ambition to further loosen decades-long shackles on its military development after World War II.

Considering the deep ties between these countries and China, it also makes clear Japan's intention of trying to drive wedges between them and China.

Considering the Philippines and China's disputes in the South China Sea, Japan's provision of OSA to the Philippines will undoubtedly add more destabilizing factors to an already complicated situation in the region.

In recent years, Japan has become the bridgehead of the United States' China-containment strategy, not only courting the Philippines and other Asian countries but also actively pushing relevant countries to jointly establish an anti-China security alliance to deal with "an increasingly assertive China".

Since taking office, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed goodwill toward China, saying he will work to build constructive and stable Japan-China relations and strengthen dialogue and cooperation with China.

We hope that Japan will not say one thing and do another, otherwise the commitment to improving China-Japan relations will end up becoming empty talk.