By South China Morning Post | Created at 2026-09-02 12:06:46 | Updated at 2026-09-02 13:18:55
1 hour ago
Japan’s plans to transfer ageing
warships to the Philippines and Indonesia could turn older military hardware into geopolitical leverage, deepening regional security ties while helping Tokyo counterbalance Beijing’s growing influence, observers say.
Such transfers, they said, fit into Tokyo’s broader security assistance toolkit to strengthen partners’ capabilities and forge longer-term defence relationships through equipment, training, maintenance and interoperability – expanding Japan’s regional influence without demanding alignment against Beijing.
The broader effort is aimed at cultivating what Tokyo calls a “desirable security environment” by taking a more active role in shaping the region’s security architecture.
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Providing retiring warships is an important element of that push. The Philippines expects to receive five Abukuma-class destroyer escorts within two to three years, while Tokyo and Jakarta are discussing the transfer of Asagiri-class destroyers, the first of which was retired in March after 38 years of service.
An analysis published on August 25 by Japan’s National Institute for Defence Studies (NIDS), the defence ministry’s main research institute, suggests Tokyo could eventually broaden the pool of equipment for such transfers.
NIDS researcher Akinori Ishihara pointed to Japan’s transfer of ageing but still operational warships to Russia during World War I after newer vessels reduced their relative importance in Japan’s future fleet.
Ishihara argued that the key consideration was not whether equipment was new or old, or active or retired, but whether Japan could transfer it and still maintain the defence capabilities it needed.
