TOKYO: (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan plans to supply defence equipment to Thailand, Tonga and six other nations in the current fiscal year as security aid, a government source said Friday (June 20), in bid to ensure safe sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific region where China is evolving its military posture.
According to Kyodo news agency the eight countries -- also including East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Sri Lanka -- are expected to be designated as the recipients of Japan's "official security assistance" (OSA) framework, designed for like-minded partners, for fiscal 2025 from April, the source said.
