Japan is considering providing grant in aid to Indonesia and the Philippines to support their fight against terrorism, government sources said Sunday.
Several billion yen would be used for official development assistance to the two Asian countries in the fiscal 2006 budget, which is to be compiled by the end of the year, the sources said.
It would mark the first time Japan directly uses ODA to support developing countries' battles against terrorism. ODA has so far been spent on assistance in medical, educational and human resource development fields.
The aid to Indonesia and the Philippines would be used to establish communications networks between police and armed forces and online systems for immigration control, while expanding antiterror-related equipment for their coast guards, the sources said.
The move comes amid growing fears of borderless terror attacks. For example, a Japanese citizen was killed along with 19 other people in October when bombs exploded on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
The financial aid would apparently be designed to strengthen cooperation between Japan and Southeast Asian nations to back their fight against terrorism, the sources said.
The assistance is also in line with the government's policy of utilizing ODA more strategically.
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