Japan's security presence in Asean now 'routine' amid fear of China gaining sway

Tokyo taking a calibrated approach to try to fill vacuum left by US in region

- Walter Sim

TOKYO - Two Japanese warships called on a Cambodian naval base on April 19, becoming the first foreign vessels to dock at a facility inaugurated just two weeks earlier after extensive China-funded upgrades.

The event at Ream Naval Base, hailed as "historically significant" by the Japanese embassy in Phnom Penh, sent a strong signal of Japan's interest in maintaining a rules-based multilateral order in the Indo-Pacific through defence diplomacy, projecting its military presence in regional waters.

Over in Tokyo on April 15, when announcing the port call, Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said Japan was watching China's "highly notable" attempts to secure operational footholds overseas. Military experts had questioned if the Ream Naval Base, facing the Gulf of Thailand and near contested South China Sea waters, was a de facto hub for the Chinese military.

Days later, on April 29, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described the Philippines as a "quasi-ally" during a visit to Manila. Japan is building a network of strategic defence partners, although the United States is its only formal security ally, given constraints under Japan's pacifist Constitution.

Talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr included discussions about a military intelligence-sharing pact, and an agreement that allows their armed forces to share fuel, food and logistical support services.

Japan is shedding its historical baggage as a wartime aggressor and growing its security presence in South-east Asia amid worries that China will exert greater influence, given US President Donald Trump's lack of interest in the region.