Military buildup will lead to mistrust of japan by neighboring countries

The Abe administration has plenty of imagination. It seems to be looking for a man of straw to attack, and the imaginary foe has turned out to be the ready justification for Japan's military buildup.

Speaking to defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Brunei, on Aug 29, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said that the nation's self-defense force should have a marine corps' function to defend remote islands from provocations by neighboring countries. He also said Japan should consider acquiring the capability of launching pre-emptive strikes against enemy military bases.

Onodera was the first member of Shinzo Abe's cabinet to express in public Japan's interest in being able to attack enemies pre-emptively with cruise missiles.

Less than a year since the Abe administration was sworn in, Japan's new defense strategy is taking shape, moving away from the country's defense-only policy. But Japan has not started serious debate on its exercise of the right to collective self-defense or, in a broader sense, on constitutional change.

Japan's Mainichi Shimbun newspaper warned that proposals should not go by without comment when any new Japanese amphibious force could be used in the name of collective self-defense.

However, the red line in the country's constitution is crossed when the Japanese government comes up with policies to strengthen its defense capabilities.

Japan's Defense Ministry applied for a 2014 budget of 4.89 trillion yen ($49.17 billion), or 2.9 percent more than in 2013. Some of the money will go to a new land-sea operations unit in Japan's ground self-defense force. This was surely done with an eye on far-flung islands, such as China's Diaoyu Islands. The ministry has also requested 1.3 billion yen to station a group of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force's E-2C airborne early-warning aircraft at Naha air base in Okinawa. The ministry's spending plans for the next fiscal year include research on unmanned high-altitude surveillance planes and tilt-rotor aircraft.

In its press release on the budget request, the Japanese Defense Ministry claimed that it must have superiority in the air as well as on the sea to respond effectively to attacks on islands.

Increased defense spending was "a clear signal of our determination to defend the Senkaku Islands (China's Diaoyu Islands)", Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso said recently.

Japan's coast guard is requesting a grant of 193.3 billion yen, an increase of 13 percent, for the next fiscal year to build new patrol ships and piers. It plans to build 10 cutting-edge ships and renovate two vessels capable of hosting helicopters as backup in case a team dedicated to the security of the disputed islands is unable to deal with a contingency on its own, coast guard officials said.

Still, the coast guard plans to increase its staff by 528 people, which would be the largest personnel expansion in decades. It currently has about 12,800 personnel. Many of the additional staff members will go to the security team for the disputed islands, which is due to be ready by 2015.

For the first time Japan will send its Ground Self-Defense Force to the biannual Rim of Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise off Hawaii in 2014. It claims it is doing this to prepare to deal with the Chinese ships patrolling near the Diaoyu Islands.

Since 1980 Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has participated in the RIMPAC exercise in the name of relief. Japan's dispatch of its Ground Self-Defense Force for drills with US maritime troops next year is aimed at improving their ability to defend remote islands.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi announced in June that China, at the invitation of the US, will attend the RIMPAC exercise in 2014. Yang made the announcement after the June 7-8 summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama at the Sunnylands estate in California.

In its reorganization plan, Japan's Defense Ministry will integrate the management of the Self-Defense Force's operations into the Joint Staff Office.

Japan is drawing big powers to its side. Joint military drills with the US aside, Japan will send its Maritime Self-Defense Force to a joint drill with the British navy in November to display how it would contain China in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Britain will dispatch its most advanced warship HMS Destroyer to Japan.

Japan and Britain signed a defense cooperation and security agreement on July 4, which covers joint development of defense equipment.

Japan's military buildup under the pretext of defending territory that belongs to its neighboring country will only increase the problems between the two nations.

The author is China Daily's Tokyo bureau chief. Contact the writer at caihong@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily European Weekly 09/13/2013 page10)