The government has pledged to give heavy machinery for disaster relief worth ¥400 million ($2.73 million) to Papua New Guinea under its official security assistance (OSA) program.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Takuma Miyaji signed and exchanged notes on the matter with Papua New Guinea's foreign minister, Justin Tkatchenko, during his trip to the Oceanian nation, according to a Japanese announcement Tuesday.
Papua New Guinea is among eight countries to which Japan plans to provide defense equipment in fiscal 2025 under its OSA program. The other seven include Thailand, East Timor and Sri Lanka.
In light of China's intimidating activities in the East and South China seas, Tokyo aims to bolster security cooperation with Pacific island nations.
Also on Tuesday, Japan and Papua New Guinea issued a joint statement by their foreign ministers to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.
In the statement, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Tkatchenko expressed their countries' "opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion," apparently bearing China in mind, and confirmed their "determination to work even more closely" to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
The ministers also affirmed their commitment to further deepening bilateral ties.
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