Ahmad Adil, Faisal Mahmud
10 September 2026•Update: 10 September 2026
A Japanese ship carrying three CH-47 helicopters arrived in wildfire-hit Indonesia on Thursday, marking Tokyo's first overseas firefighting mission, Kyodo News reported.
The 8,900-ton Osumi-class transport ship Kunisaki arrived at Kijing Port in West Kalimantan with around 350 personnel.
The helicopters will support the Indonesian military in aerial firefighting for about a week from Sunday.
The CH-47s will draw water from rivers and carry about five tons on each run before dumping it over fire-hit areas.
"We will make every effort" to execute the mission to help the victims, a Japanese Defense Ministry official said.
Massive fires that broke out across Indonesia between January and July have burned around 2,000 square kilometers (772 square miles) of forests and peatland, according to Kyodo. Fires are still burning in several parts of the country, with the Indonesian military conducting aerial firefighting operations.
The deployment follows an agreement signed in May between Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin to broaden defense cooperation, including joint training and disaster relief operations.
Meanwhile, Japan has also deployed Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighter aircraft to India for the first time.
Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self Defence Force are holding bilateral air exercise, "Veer Guardian-2026," which began Wednesday and will run through September at Air Force Station Jodhpur in western India.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, writing on US social media company X, called the maiden visit a “significant milestone” in the India-Japan defense partnership.
"I am deeply encouraged to see that Japan-India defense cooperation is steadily developing through the accumulation of exchanges and joint training between frontline units," said Koizumi in a separate post.
