Japan changes course. Destroyers for the Philippines, frigates for Australia

Japan is increasingly moving away from postwar restrictions on arms exports. Tokyo is preparing to hand over used Abukuma-type escort destroyers to the Philippines. At the same time it won the most important export contract in the history of its own shipbuilding industry — construction of a Mogami frigate for Australia.

Japan breaks long-term restrictions

For decades Japan She was very careful about arms exports. This was due to both the pacifist character of the post-war constitution and the political principles limiting the sale of military equipment abroad. However, the situation is changing as safety deteriorates in Indo-Pacific.

Tokyo is increasingly treating the defence industry not only as its fleet base, but also as a tool for strengthening partners in the region. In practice, this means Japan's entry into the military equipment supply group of countries under increasing pressure from China.

These are not new generation ships. They have limited air defense capabilities and a small supply of modernization. For the Philippines, however, they can be very valuable because they give something that Manila needs right now: additional ships for patrolling their own waters, shipping shields and operating the ZOP.

Abukuma ships for the Philippines

The most important element of the talks are the Abukuma-type escort destroyers. These are units built in the late 1980s and 1990s, classified in Japan as the Destroyer Escort. In Polish terminology, it is safest to describe them as escort destroyers, possibly small frigates of the ZOP, because their tasks and size put them closer to the frigates than modern destroyers.

Ships are about 109 metres long and standard displacement of 2,000 tons. Their weapons include Harpoon antiship missiles, the ASROC system to combat submarines, a 76 mm caliber cannon, light torpedo launchers and an artillery direct defense set Phalanx.

These are not new generation ships. Compared to modern frigates they have limited air defense capabilities and a more modest supply of modernization. However, they can be very valuable for the Philippines, as they quickly increase the number of sea-going ships capable of patrolling coastal waters, protecting shipping routes and conducting ZOP operations in this part of the world.

From Manila's point of view, then, not only the age of ships, but above all the time. The Philippines needs units that can be put into service faster than new frigates built from scratch. For Japan, in turn, it is a test of a new security policy model: instead of limiting itself to exercises, declarations and technical assistance, Tokyo begins to pass on real sea equipment to partners.

Abukuma, however, is only one part of this change. About the Australian choice of Mogami-type frigates, I will not go further here because I have already described this in a separate April article on our portal. It is enough to remind you that Canberra has put a Japanese proposal in the program of the new general purpose frigates. To Tokyo, it's important for two reasons. Firstly, Japan no longer speaks exclusively of defence cooperation, but begins to offer warships to partners from the region. Secondly, its shipbuilding industry has won in a demanding market where European suppliers have had a strong position for years.

Philippines is not the only direction

Japanese support for the countries of the region is not limited to the Philippines. Tokyo is also developing cooperation with Indonesia to provide patrol vessels useful in coastal and inland waters. This is important because many Indo-Pacific countries do not need only large warships. Equally important are units for day-to-day water patrolling, protecting exclusive economic zones and responding to activities below the war threshold.

This is how Japan builds a network of maritime partnerships. It is not yet exports of arms on the scale of the United States, South Korea or European shipbuilding companies, but the direction is clear. Tokyo wants to be a country that not only strengthens its fleet itself, but also helps others maintain presence at sea.

Japan's new role in Indo-Pacific

Japan does not become an exporter of warships for purely commercial reasons. Against the background, there is a strategic situation in Indo-Pacific: the increasing activity of the Chinese Navy, the pressure on the Philippines in the South China Sea, tensions around Taiwan and the development of the North Korean missile program.

Tokyo responds to these challenges on a two-track basis. On the one hand, it modernizes its own Marine Defense Forces, on the other hand it strengthens partners who are in the most important maritime directions of rivalry with China. Abukuma ships for the Philippines and Mogami frigates for Australia are elements of the same puzzle.

From the perspective of the region, this means that Japan ceases to be only a country using an American safety umbrella. It is increasingly becoming a security provider and the shipbuilding industry is becoming one of the tools of this policy.

What does that mean for the ship industry?

Japanese shipyards have a lot of experience building ships for their own fleet. Until now, however, they lacked export practice, and in this industry it can be as important as the project itself. The planned transfer of Abukuma ships and the Australian choice of Mogami frigates can break this barrier. Japan shows that its shipbuilding industry does not have to work exclusively for the Marine Self-defense Force.

This does not mean that Japan will quickly become a mass arms exporter. It is still limited by procedures, political conditionality and little experience of large export programmes. However, the direction is visible. Tokyo begins to treat warships as a tool of regional policy, not just equipment own fleet.

For the Indo-Pacific States, that's an important signal. Japan, which has for years avoided direct participation in military equipment exports, is increasingly entering an area which has been the domain of the largest arms manufacturers so far. In the region where maritime security has become one of the main fields of competition, such a change is more important than the transfer of several ships themselves.