Japanese naval activities in Southeast Asian waters: building on 50 years of maritime security capacity building

ABSTRACT Japan has included improvement of Southeast Asian maritime security as an aim of its foreign policy for the last fifty years. This article analyzes the evolution of Japan’s maritime security initiatives in Southeast Asia by documenting major events and offering new insights into the most important inflection points associated with that history. Unlike previous accounts that portray this history as a matter of gradual change, it demonstrates that Japan’s initiatives passed through three distinct phases (1969–1998, 1999–2009, and 2010-present) with the shifts between each being marked by quick expansions of the Japanese agencies and partner organizations involved. This history provides critical context for understanding Japan’s apparent transition into a fourth phase in which Japanese cooperative activities will begin working to strengthen Southeast Asian military capacities.