Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on January 11 that his country has agreed to provide high-speed patrol boats to Indonesia following talks with President Prabowo Subianto, as the maritime nations seek to expand security cooperation amid China’s growing clout, Report informs via Bangkok Post.
“Japan wants to cooperate as much as possible” in areas including the improvement of defense capabilities and energy security, Ishiba said at the meeting with Prabowo in Bogor, south of Jakarta. The Indonesian president hailed Japan as an important partner and welcomed its involvement in helping to nurture his country’s natural resources industry.
Two patrol boats are expected to be supplied as part of Japan’s defense assistance program intended to bolster security ties with like-minded nations. The leaders are also likely to have discussed holding a “two-plus-two” ministerial meeting of their foreign and defense ministers, the third of its kind, at an early date. The previous round was held in 2021.
