Japan plans to set up amphibious military unit and deploy drones
Japan will set up a new amphibious military unit and deploy unarmed surveillance drones in its southwest, where it faces a row with China over disputed islands, according to drafts of the nation’s latest defence plans seen on Wednesday.
Japan will set up a new amphibious military unit and deploy unarmed surveillance drones in its southwest, where it faces a row with China over disputed islands, according to drafts of the nation’s latest defence plans seen on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered the defence policy review after returning to office last December, pledging to strengthen the military and boost Japan’s global security role.
The new defence guideline and military build-up plan, to be approved by the government next week, follow China’s declaration in November of a new air defence identification zone in an area that includes the disputed isles, triggering protests from Tokyo, as well as Washington and Seoul.
The drafts of the two plans were made available at a meeting of ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers and shown to reporters. Final versions of the defence guideline, which lays out Japan’s defence policy for the next 10 years, and the build-up plan, called the mid-term defence programme and covering a five-year period, will be unveiled next Tuesday.
Japan’s unreasonable criticism of China’s normal maritime activities and its hyping up of the China threat has hidden political motives
Citing Japan’s concerns about what it calls Beijing’s attempts to change the status quo with force, the guideline says Japan will “respond calmly and resolutely to the rapid expansion and step-up of China’s maritime and air activities.”