Japan announces it will boost military spending against Chinese threat
Japan announced Tuesday it will buy stealth fighters, drones and submarines as part of a splurge on military hardware that will beef up defence of far-flung islands amid a territorial row with China.
The cabinet of hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to spend 24.7 trillion yen ($240 billion) between 2014 and 2019 in a strategic shift towards the south and west of the country — a five percent boost to the military budget over five years.
The shopping list is part of efforts by Abe to normalise the military in Japan, which has been officially pacifist since defeat in World War II. Its well-equipped and highly professional services are limited to a narrowly defined self-defensive role.
It comes with the establishment of a US-style National Security Council that is expected to concentrate greater power in the hands of a smaller number of senior politicians and bureaucrats.
Fears are growing in Japan over the rising power of China, with the two countries embroiled in a dispute over the sovereignty of a group of islands in the East China Sea, and the perennial threat posed by an unpredictable North Korea. New guidelines approved by the cabinet on Tuesday said Tokyo will introduce a “dynamic joint defence force”, intended to help air, land and sea forces work together more effectively.
Abe said the shift would allow Japan’s military to better shoulder its responsibilities on the global stage.
18.12.2013
MEDIA
