NEWS DESK
TOKYO: In an unprecedented move, Japan said on Friday it would begin a $320 billion defence budget for a military build-up plan that would arm it with missiles capable of targeting China as Russia’s Ukraine invasion and regional tensions surged war fears.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government in Japan fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin has set a precedent that will encourage Beijing to attack Taiwan, threatening surrounding Japanese islands.
In its five-year military plan and revamped national security strategy, Japan’s government said it would also store spare parts and other munitions, develop cyber warfare capabilities, reinforce logistics, and cooperate more closely with the US and other like-minded countries to deter threats to the existing international order.
Japan’s defence budget aims to counter Chinese threat
In the national security paper, Japan said that Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine is a severe violation of international laws that prohibit the use of force and disturb the international order,”.
“The strategic threat posed by China is the major challenge Japan has ever faced in history,” it added.
The rapid arming of Japan, which was unthinkable under past administrations, which already hosts the United States forces, including a Marine expeditionary force and a carrier strike group, has the backing of the majority of the voters, according to an opinion survey.
Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida’s plan will double defence spending to around 2% of GDP over the next five years and surge the defence ministry’s share to about a tenth of the whole public spending. The latest measures will also make Japan the third-biggest country in the world with the highest military expenditure after China and the United States, based on current budgets.
