According to the newspaper, the defense ministry and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) have decided that Japanese P-3C patrol aircraft returning home from anti-piracy activities off the coast of Somalia will make transit points along the way at bases in countries involved in the South China Sea disputes, including the Philippines and Vietnam.
Though the P-3C aircraft have long been involved in anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, they usually refuel at bases farther away from the South China Sea, including Thailand. Now, while outward journeys would remain the same, return trips will prioritize refueling in countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia – all rival claimants in the ongoing South China Sea disputes with China.
Though the step may seem small, if it occurs it will no doubt be significant. Since the P-3Cs have advanced monitoring capabilities, their presence at these new locations will mean that they will cover a greater portion of the South China Sea, where Chinese behavior continues to be a concern for not just Southeast Asian claimant states, but major powers like the United States and Japan as well.
More broadly, as the newspaper noted, it would effectively constitute one way that Japan is contributing to the protection of freedom of navigation and overflight in its own way following U.S. patrols around the artificial islands built by China last year. While joint U.S.-Japan patrols in the South China Sea have yet to occur, the two countries have been increasingly coordinating their activities in the area, including by holding their first-ever bilateral naval exercise in the South China Sea in October last year (See: “US-Japan Joint Patrols in the South China Sea?”).
In addition, the aircraft, the newspaper reported, could also be part of broader bilateral defense exchanges in those locations. For instance, arrangements are being made for a February stop in Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam along with goodwill exercises. As I reported for The Diplomat last November, during Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani’s visit to Vietnam, the two sides had agreed that Japanese vessels would be able to make port calls in Cam Ranh Bay. However, Vietnamese officials were careful to clarify thereafter that it would be in the international harbor portion under construction rather than the naval base itself (See: “Japan Warships Could Visit Vietnam Naval Base Near South China Sea in 2016”).
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