Last month, Japan and Indonesia signed a defense pact that covers capacity building, peacekeeping and equipment development. In an email interview, Zachary Abuza, principal of Southeast Asia Analytics, discussed Japan-Indonesia relations. WPR: What is the nature of the Japan-Indonesia bilateral relationship, and what is the extent of political, economic and defense ties? Zachary Abuza: Indonesia and Japan have close economic ties, with bilateral trade now amounting to over $50 billion a year. Japan is a major investor in Indonesia’s manufacturing sector, and it is the single largest provider of development assistance—more than $40 billion since 1960. Indonesia is also seeking [...]
Last month, Japan and the United Kingdom agreed to jointly research new air-to-air missile technology. In an email interview, Yuzo Murayama, professor at the Graduate School of Business at Doshisha University, discussed Japan’s entry into the global defense market. WPR: What defense technologies and capabilities does Japan have to offer on the global defense market? Yuzo Murayama: Japan does not have many globally competitive defense-specific technologies or products. This is because Japanese weapons have not been tested in real battlefield environments due to the past ban on arms exports. There are exceptions, such as submarines that contain unique technologies. However, [...]
Japan and China took another step toward thawing relations over access and territorial rights in the East China Sea with the resumption earlier this month of high-level maritime talks in Tokyo. The Jan. 12 meeting focused on creating a crisis-management mechanism that would mitigate any potential flashpoint surrounding the disputed Senkaku Islands, claimed by China as the Diaoyu. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to work toward establishing such a maritime crisis hotline after their brief meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meetings held in Beijing last November. That summit [...]
