Japan counterstrike capability may target China’s top military body
- Speculation mounts after the government did not directly address a lawmaker’s query whether targets of the plan would include the Central Military Commission
- The ruling LDP has suggested Tokyo acquire counterstrike capability to attack enemy bases and ‘command and control functions’
The speculation came to light in a parliamentary meeting last week when the defence ministry did not answer directly a question from an opposition lawmaker seeking to know whether what has until recently been called “enemy base attack capability” targets would include China’s CMC.
The LDP has yet to clearly say what such functions entail but defence experts say the proposed capability could cover command centres issuing orders for missile attacks and would expand Japan’s options for retaliating against mobile- and submarine-launched missiles.
In a meeting last Wednesday of the House of Representatives Committee of Foreign Affairs, Japanese Communist Party member Keiji Kokuta asked if the government envisages the CMC and the five theatre Commands as among the targets of a counterstrike capability.