Japan Ministry of Defense (JMOD) hosted the 5th Professional Airmanship Program (PAP) between 6-8 August by inviting Air Force officers from ASEAN countries in order to promote mutual understanding and trust, and share expertise in Space Situational Awareness (SSA), going beyond the Air Domain Awareness.
The PAP builds on Japan’s proposal at the 4th ASEAN-Japan Defense Ministers’ Informal Meeting in October 2018. The program is conducted with a view to strengthen ASEAN’s resilience, in order to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) under the Vientiane Vision 2.0, a guiding principle for Japan-ASEAN defense cooperation.
The 5th PAP, as one of the new efforts under the Japan-ASEAN Ministerial Initiative for Enhanced Defense Cooperation (JASMINE), JMOD/JSDF held a seminar on the rule of law and security in space domain. Participants deepened their understandings through the seminar and an exchange of opinions about the cooperation in rule-making as the practitioners of the rule of law. In addition, the JMOD/JSDF members were able to further promote mutual understanding and confidence building with participants from ASEAN countries.
Main Program
●Seminar
Prof. HASHIMOTO Yasuaki, Visiting Research Fellow, GAKUSHUIN university, gave a lecture on the rule of law and security in the field of outer space. Participants from ASEAN countries also gave presentations and exchanged opinions.
●Base visits
Through the tour of JSDF Space Operations Group (Fuchu Base and Iruma Base), Japan shared expertise relevant to SSA with the participants.
●Inspection visit
Through the tour of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA, Tsukuba Space Center), participants deepened their understanding of the use of outer space through satellites. They also visited Astroscale Inc. to develop a deeper insight into the role of the private sector in space security.
