Japan sending military adviser to Malaysia, boosting regional presence in face of assertive China

Japan is beefing up its military and diplomatic presence in Southeast Asia by sending an extra defence attaché to its embassy in Kuala Lumpur, adding to military officers sent to embassies in the Philippines and Vietnam last year.

A spokesman for the ministry confirmed the Malaysian appointment, funded in the 2018 budget, but declined to explain why Japan is stepping up military advisory and intelligence-gathering capabilities in Southeast Asia.

However, the official said the new permanent attaches “will not have any responsibilities for the security of Japanese embassies in those countries.”

Media in Japan have reported that the military advisers have been tasked with deepening exchanges across the region, collecting and analysing intelligenceand promoting defence cooperation.

In its most recent white paper on security and defence spending, the ministry detailed a commitment to strengthening intelligence capabilities “in order that the MOD can promptly detect and swiftly respond to warnings of various situations in areas surrounding Japan and take measures based on medium-to-long-term military trends.”

As well as sending more defence attaches to partner nations, the ministry’s efforts will include boosting the Defence Intelligence Headquarters’ data gathering and analysis, while a large portion of the paper is given over to supporting partner states via defence arrangements including joint military exercises.