In Japan, the consensus has been growing that engagement with China is starting to look like it was a mistake. China has not changed politically, nor has it developed grateful or friendly feelings toward Japan. On the contrary, it has come increasingly to look like Japan’s worst nightmare – a strong; Communist led one party state, angry and harboring revengeful sentiment toward Tokyo. Most worrying of all, China is now building up military assets that look increasingly like they are pointed directly at Japan’s interests. This has resulted in a more muscular approach by Japan. Incursions by Chinese planes into Japanese airspace near the Senkaku islands were met with a record number of scrambles by Japanese fighter planes this year. Japan’s defense ministry has requested a record budget to counter growing Chinese military activity around the group of disputed islands in the East China Sea. Japan has increased its defense budget steadily in recent years. Japanese military spending is at highest level in Japan's modern history, leaving it in 7th place in terms of military spending world-wide. Here are 5 steps Japan is taking to counter China. Fiercer fighter jets There has been a surge in the number of Chinese warplanes as well as increased Chinese provocations in waters around the Senkaku Islands, in the southernmost Japanese administered part of Okinawa. Japan's Defense Ministry has approved a budgetary allocation so the country's air force, which is responding more frequently to Chinese provocations, can load more missiles on its F-15 fighter jets. The ministry wants to double the number of air-to-air missiles to be loaded on the mainstay jets, operated by the Air Self-Defense Force. It also plans to lengthen the jets' lifespans. The ASDF owns 200 F-15s, fourth-generation fighter jets made by Boeing, the U.S. aerospace and Defense Company. AMPHIBIOUS FORCE: Japan is looking to build a more agile military. At the heart of the strategy is the development of a mobile amphibious force – modeled on the US marine corps – that would be able to respond quickly to an attempt to invade the Senkakus. Japan plans 2,000-strong mobile amphibious unit near Nagasaki. Operating from amphibious ships requires a lot of planning, coordination, synchronization, and communication The Japanese have been working with US marines to acquire the required skills. The Japanese have been observing and learning from Marines & practicing with a variety of aircraft, rubber raiding boats and amphibious assault vehicles. They’ve also practiced swimming and martial arts together. DESTROYERS & SUBMARINES: Japan plan to improve the surface ships as well as underwater vessel capabilities. It plans to construct 1 more Atago class Aegis-equipped destroyer. The Atago class is fundamentally an improved and scaled-up version of Kongō-class destroyers. The class features large accommodation and the ships are capable of flexible operation. Also Japan plans for Life extension of 5 major destroyers . This includes acquiring parts for Asagiri-class (3 destroyers), Hatakaze-class (1 destroyer),and Kongo-class (1 destroyer) to keep them in proper fighting condition. China’s underwater fleet are known to be vulnerable to counter attack by enemy submarines. Hence , Japan plans to deploy more Soryu-class attack submarines. 5 are under construction and will be commissioned soon. This will increase the number of attack submarines from the current 17 to 22. DEFENSIVE UMBRELLA : In the single biggest outlay, the ministry plans to upgrade Japan’s Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missiles, seen as the last line of defense against a nuclear or conventional missiles. The improvements will dramatically enhance the PAC-3’s range and its ability to target incoming missiles. The rollout of the new advanced Missile Segment Enhancement, could double the range of the current PAC-3 missiles to around 30 km. Also Japan and the U.S. will continue their cooperative development of an Advanced Ballistic Missile Interceptor (SM-3 Block IIA) to be deployed on Aegis-equipped destroyers. The SM 3 is a ship-based missile system used by the United States Navy to intercept short-to intermediate-range ballistic missiles as a part of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Although primarily designed as an anti-ballistic missile, the SM-3 has also been employed in an anti-satellite capacity against a satellite at the lower end of low Earth orbit. WEAPONS TO PHILIPPINE, MANALI AND MALAYSIA One reason China has been able to engage in provocative activities in the disputed waters is the low capacity of other nations in the region to protect their shores. PM Abe seeks to check China's expansionary aims by helping boost the naval capabilities of these nations.
Visibility: 87705
Duration: 9m 7s
Rating: 567