Tokyo is providing another tranche of military aid to Manila under its Official Security Assistance (OSA) framework that will include a ¥1.6 billion ($10.7 million) grant for additional coastal surveillance radar systems, rigid inflatable boats and other equipment.

As territorial disputes between China and the Philippines intensify, the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo announced on Thursday that the grant is intended to help strengthen the maritime security capabilities of the Philippine Navy as well as the surveillance and monitoring capabilities of the air force.

Agreed in an exchange of notes in Manila between Japan’s ambassador to the Philippines, Kazuya Endo, and Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, the arrangement also includes funds for equipment designed to support the continued operation of the air surveillance radar systems that Manila procured from Tokyo in 2020.

Mitsubishi Electric delivered a fixed radar system to the Philippine Air Force in October last year while a second system — a mobile unit — was handed over to the service in March this year.

Located relatively close to Taiwan and astride key maritime trade routes, the Philippines is viewed by Tokyo as crucial to maintaining regional security and stability amid concerns that a crisis akin to Russia's invasion of Ukraine could erupt in the region.

The latest announcement marks the second time in as many years that the Philippines has been an OSA beneficiary, with the Southeast Asian country being awarded a ¥600 million grant for coastal surveillance radars last year.

No information was provided, however, on how many rigid boats or coastal radars will be supplied under the latest grant or when these items are slated for delivery.

The move follows Tokyo’s revelation that it would more than double its OSA budget, from ¥2 billion in 2023 to ¥5 billion for this fiscal year.

After the Philippine deal, which amounts to about a third of this year’s total OSA budget, Tokyo is now finalizing talks with Indonesia, Mongolia and Djibouti to provide them with “monitoring and surveillance” equipment.

Once the procedures have been completed, there will be a “signing and exchange of notes,” a Foreign Ministry official said.

First announced in Japan’s revised 2022 National Security Strategy, the OSA framework is meant to provide equipment, supplies and infrastructure development assistance to partner countries, mostly in the Indo-Pacific region, in the form of grants rather than loans.

Government officials say the aim is to strengthen these nations’ security and deterrence capabilities to “reinforce” the region’s “comprehensive defense architecture” and create a more favorable security environment for Japan.