The government has decided to again propose the joint development of Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels with Indonesia, as part of its efforts to enhance security cooperation with eastern Asian countries, Japanese government sources have said.

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani will visit Indonesia in early January and convey the proposal to his counterpart, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. The Japanese government is envisioning MSDF frigates, in which Indonesia has shown interest.

The Indonesian government is also highly interested in submarines, and the countries have continued negotiations toward starting joint development over the past few years. However, talks stalled under the administration of former President Joko Widodo, as the Indonesian government invested a huge amount of funds for the relocation of its capital.

In October, former Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who is familiar with the negotiation process with Japan, became president. To seize this opportunity, Nakatani will visit Indonesia from Jan. 5 to 8 to confirm whether the country still intends to continue talks.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans to visit the country later that month, so Nakatani’s visit is expected to lay the groundwork for a summit between Japan and Indonesia’s leaders.

The implementation guidelines of the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology limit the export of finished products to those in five areas — rescue, transportation, vigilance, surveillance and minesweeping. As Japan is unable to export finished frigates or submarines under the current guidelines, it is believed to be most feasible to realize their transfer through joint development.

Indonesia values its ties with China, with which the country has strong economic relationships, but it is increasingly wary of Beijing’s one-sided expansion in the South China Sea.

President Prabowo visited Japan in April soon after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. He confirmed with then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that they would boost security cooperation between the two countries.

If the two countries’ joint development is realized, it will be a key factor in enhancing their strategic cooperation in maritime security.

Regarding the transfer of defense equipment overseas, Japan has proposed to the Australian government that the two countries jointly develop a frigate based on the design of the Mogami class. A crew of about 90 members can operate the ship, half the number of conventional destroyers.

The Australian government has announced that Japan and Germany had been selected as the final candidates for the partnership. It is expected to make the final decision in the second half of 2025.

Under the National Security Strategy, which was revised in 2022, the Japanese government came up with a principle to promote exports of defense equipment through cooperation between the nation’s public and private sectors, to boost collaboration with like-minded countries that share fundamental values and vitalize Japan’s defense industry.