The Foreign Ministry in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. — Photo The Yomiuri Shimbun/ANN

TOKYO — The Japanese government is set to begin developing nautical charts for strategic choke points along sea lanes in Southeast Asia.

By collaborating with neighbouring countries, the Japanese Foreign Ministry plans to create high-precision charts for five sea areas, with the aim of ensuring the safety of maritime transport supporting the Japanese economy.

Drawing lessons from the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the initiative seeks to diversify sea lanes it can use in Southeast Asia during peacetime.

Each covering 100sq.m, the target areas are in the Molucca Passage and the Ombai Strait in eastern Indonesia, the Sunda Strait in western Indonesia, the Surigao Strait in the Philippines and the Balabac Strait in the southern Philippines. The project will involve hydrographic surveys, seabed investigations and the installation of navigational aids. The resulting charts are expected to be made publicly available by the countries bordering the straits.

The project is estimated to cost a total ¥2 billion, or ¥400 million per strait. The project will be funded through grant aid under official development assistance (ODA) for the Philippines, Indonesia, and East Timor. Related expenses will be included in the initial budget proposal for fiscal next year.

The primary objective of creating these charts is to secure alternative shipping routes. According to the ministry, over 80 per cent of tankers transporting crude oil and other goods from the Middle East to Japan pass through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, the shortest route connecting the Indian and Pacific Ocean.

Should the straits become blocked due to a crisis or other circumstances, the “Philippine route,” which runs from the Sunda Strait through the Surigao Strait, and the “Indonesian route,” which runs from Australia in further south through the Molucca Strait and the Indonesian archipelago to the north, would serve as alternative routes.

Since the 1960s, Japan has been collaborating in the development of high-precision nautical charts for the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. While hydrographic survey by countries such as Indonesia has progressed in recent years, their charts still are low in accuracy. Given the abundance of small islands, shoals and reefs in these areas, there have been calls from companies in the private sector and others for improved accuracy.

The project also aims to contribute to the maintenance of maritime order in the region. High-precision nautical charts are expected to offer significant benefits to the countries involved as they can be used to combat illegal fishing and secure supply routes during disasters.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has advocated for the use of ODA in national security as part of an updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, with the hope Japan will strengthen relations with neighbouring countries by expanding this support. — THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN/ANN