Japan ups defence spending to match China, Russia

TOKYO: Japan will accelerate spending on advanced stealth fighters, long-range missiles and other equipment over the next five years to support US forces facing China’s military in the Western Pacific, two new government defence papers said.

The plans are the clearest indication yet of Japan’s ambition to become a regional power as a military build-up by China and a resurgent Russia puts pressure on its US ally.

“The United States remains the world’s most powerful nation, but national rivalries are surfacing and we recognise the importance of the strategic competition with both China and Russia as they challenge the regional order,” said a 10-year defence programme outline approved by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government.

China, the world’s second biggest economy, is deploying more ships and aircraft to patrol waters near Japan, while North Korea has yet to fulfil a pledge to dismantle its nuclear and missile programmes.

Russia, which continues to probe Japanese air defences, said it had built new barracks for troops on a northern island it captured from Japan at the end of World War Two.

Japan plans to buy 45 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 stealth fighters, worth about US$4bil (RM16.7bil), in addition to the 42 jets already on order, according to a separate fiveyear procurement plan approved on yesterday.

The new planes will include 18 short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) B variants of the F-35 that planners want to deploy on Japanese islands along the edge of the East China Sea.

The islands are part of a chain stretching past Taiwan and down to the Philippines that has marked the limit of Chinese military dominance east of the disputed South China Sea.

“Japan’s decision to acquire more F-35s is a testament to the aircraft’s transformational capability and its increasing role in promoting regional stability and enhancing the US- Japan security alliance,” Lockheed Martin said.

The navy’s two large helicopter carriers, the Izumo and Kaga, will be modified for F-35B operations, it said. — Reuters