By Ha Er-rui | 2026-03-05

Japan will step up security cooperation with Pacific island countries as China expands its presence across the region, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said, signaling Tokyo's intention to play a larger role in maintaining the strategic balance in the Pacific region.

Koizumi made the remarks at the third Japan-Pacific Islands Defense Dialogue (JPIDD) in Tokyo on February 23, the largest iteration of the meeting to date with officials from 28 countries.

The forum, launched by Japan in 2021, brings together defense leaders and officials from Pacific island nations and partner countries to discuss regional security cooperation.

As maritime order faces mounting challenges, Koizumi said Japan plans to deepen collaboration with Pacific partners in areas including defense personnel exchanges, crisis response and cybersecurity.

"There is only one thing that we must protect. It is a free and open 'ocean of peace,' grounded in the rule of law," he said.

Koizumi later told reporters that strengthening cooperation with Pacific island countries is of "great importance" in achieving a "free and open Indo-Pacific," Kyodo News reported.

February 24 marked four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said Koizumi.

"I sincerely hope that this JPIDD will serve as a platform where we stand united in our unwavering commitment to peace," he said, according to Asahi Shimbun. "Attempts to change the status quo by force must never be tolerated."

Despite growing concern over China's expanding military and economic influence in the Pacific, Japan's defense exchanges with island nations are "not aimed at any specific country, including China," he said.

Intensifying strategic competition among major powers is reshaping the Pacific and could pressure smaller island nations to choose sides, Fijian Minister for Defense and Veterans Affairs Pio Tikoduadua said.

In a written interview ahead of the meeting, he told Yomiuri Shimbun that the greatest challenge is the "intensifying strategic competition among nations."

Fiji seeks to safeguard its sovereignty and decision-making while working with multiple partners, he added.

Tikoduadua highlighted growing defense cooperation with Japan, particularly in maritime awareness, disaster response and training. Japan's Official Security Assistance program has strengthened Fiji's surveillance and disaster-relief capabilities, he said.

"Japan's support is transparent and aligns with our national priorities," he said.

Countering China in the Pacific

Japan's expanding engagement in the Pacific reflects broader strategic shifts as China increases its footprint across the region, say analysts.

Japan must help counter China's growing influence, Ryosuke Hanada, a doctoral candidate in international studies at Macquarie University outside Sydney, Australia, wrote in the Diplomat in February.

Recent Chinese military activities show the West's strategic contest with China has expanded beyond the traditional "first island chain," he said. He cited dual aircraft carrier deployments last June, joint Chinese-Russian strategic bomber patrols near Japan last December and a Chinese aircraft locking radar on a Japanese plane, also in December.

The first island chain includes Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.

"The Western Pacific north of the equator … is no longer a safety zone," Hanada wrote, referring to an area that forms a core hub for US command, logistics and strike capabilities.

China has used economic tools to expand its influence in Pacific island nations, including concessional loans, infrastructure projects and investment initiatives. Beijing banned Chinese tourist travel to Palau in 2018 in an effort to pressure the country to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Palau and the Marshall Islands, both of which recognize Taiwan, continue to face diplomatic pressure from Beijing.

Washington should invite partners like Japan, Australia and Taiwan into a "structured division of labor," said Hanada. The plan would allow allies to assume greater responsibility in their respective regions and contribute more effectively to collective defense.

Amid these concerns, Koizumi announced that Japan will launch a Next-Generation Leadership Security Program in the next fiscal year, inviting young and mid-career officials from Pacific island defense ministries and related agencies to work in Japan.

Tokyo seeks to strengthen long-term cooperation not only in defense but in broader areas such as cybersecurity and security policy development too.