Japan's key role in capacity-building in the Indian Ocean

Abstract

One of the key themes of this Conference has been to explore the potential for Japan to enhance its contributions to Indo-Pacific maritime security, not just in the Pacific, but also in the Indian Ocean. Ambassador Sumio Kusaka in ‘Indo-Pacific Maritime Security’: Challenges and Cooperation outlined Japan’s concerns about the Indian Ocean security as part of its growing role across the IndoPacific. In ‘The Role of Japan in Indian Ocean Security,’ Masenori Nishi describes why Japan’s dependence on the sea lines of communication (SLOCs) across the Indian Ocean is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Admiral Kazu Akimoto in ‘A New Dimension to the Australia-Japan Maritime Security Cooperation,’ explains how the Bay of Bengal/Eastern Indian Ocean would become a zone of major strategic importance for Japan in the event of a closure of the South China Sea to navigation – meaning that energy traffic through Malacca Strait would likely move eastwards to transit the Lombok Strait and Makassar Strait, into Philippine Sea, staying beyond the first island chain. In those circumstances, Japan and its partners must be in a position to stabilise that part of the Indian Ocean.