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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...r-japan-security/story-e6frg6so-1225972936957
JAPAN has overturned its outdated defence strategy to combat the increasing territorial belligerence of China and menace of North Korea.
Forces will be shifted from northern Japan to the southern islands where the country faces a potential threat from China, and extra Patriot missiles will be installed as protection from a North Korean attack.
Last night North Korea's military threatened to strike back if South Korea goes ahead with a planned live-fire drill on a border island, and warned that nuclear war between the two was just a matter of time.
The joint missile shield being developed with the US will be bolstered by increasing from four to six the number of destroyers equipped with Aegis anti-ballistic missile technology.
The doctrine reflects the emergence of a new bipolar power balance in Asia, with the US, Japan, Australia, India and ASEAN countries pressed into increasingly close alliance by China's growing military might.
Co-operation with allies, including Australia, will be enhanced and Japan's readiness increased to deter attacks and facilitate increased participation in international peacekeeping efforts. The Australian revealed this week that Japanese Defence Minister Toshimi Kitizawa is keen for his country's troops to spend time training with Australian units, which boast recent combat experience in Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor.
The National Defence Program Guidelines, released by Prime Minister Naoto Kan yesterday, say China's military activities and lack of transparency are "of concern for the regional and global community".
"North Korea's nuclear and missile issues are immediate and grave destabilising factors to regional security," they say.
The doctrine formally switches Japan's post-Cold War emphasis on defending an attack on its northern border from Russia, to dealing with the rise of China.
As a result, Japan will shift forces from Hokkaido in the north to the Nansei Islands in the southwest, close to Taiwan and the Chinese coast. The exact location of the new deployments has not been specified, but media speculation in Japan has mentioned Yonaguni Island, close to Taiwan, as a likely base.
The changes will see Japan expand its Aegis-equipped destroyer fleet from four to six and build up its submarine fleet from 16 to 22.
In recognition of Japan's struggling economy, the Kan government hopes to achieve the changes with a slight reduction in overall budget.
Kosuke Takahashi, the Tokyo correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly, said this could be achieved by changing the top-heavy nature of Japan's forces, which have a glut of senior desk-bound staff on high salaries.
The guidelines suggest overall force numbers will fall from 155,000 to 154,000 and the number of tanks and artillery pieces will be cut by half.
The Kan government was forced to drop plans to lift the ban on defence exports to shore up links with the Social Democratic Party to help pass its budget.
As revealed by the WikiLeaks cables, the US is keen for Japan to rescind this ban to allow the technology used in the joint US-Japan missile shield to be deployed in Europe
JAPAN has overturned its outdated defence strategy to combat the increasing territorial belligerence of China and menace of North Korea.
Forces will be shifted from northern Japan to the southern islands where the country faces a potential threat from China, and extra Patriot missiles will be installed as protection from a North Korean attack.
Last night North Korea's military threatened to strike back if South Korea goes ahead with a planned live-fire drill on a border island, and warned that nuclear war between the two was just a matter of time.
The joint missile shield being developed with the US will be bolstered by increasing from four to six the number of destroyers equipped with Aegis anti-ballistic missile technology.
The doctrine reflects the emergence of a new bipolar power balance in Asia, with the US, Japan, Australia, India and ASEAN countries pressed into increasingly close alliance by China's growing military might.
Co-operation with allies, including Australia, will be enhanced and Japan's readiness increased to deter attacks and facilitate increased participation in international peacekeeping efforts. The Australian revealed this week that Japanese Defence Minister Toshimi Kitizawa is keen for his country's troops to spend time training with Australian units, which boast recent combat experience in Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor.
The National Defence Program Guidelines, released by Prime Minister Naoto Kan yesterday, say China's military activities and lack of transparency are "of concern for the regional and global community".
"North Korea's nuclear and missile issues are immediate and grave destabilising factors to regional security," they say.
The doctrine formally switches Japan's post-Cold War emphasis on defending an attack on its northern border from Russia, to dealing with the rise of China.
As a result, Japan will shift forces from Hokkaido in the north to the Nansei Islands in the southwest, close to Taiwan and the Chinese coast. The exact location of the new deployments has not been specified, but media speculation in Japan has mentioned Yonaguni Island, close to Taiwan, as a likely base.
The changes will see Japan expand its Aegis-equipped destroyer fleet from four to six and build up its submarine fleet from 16 to 22.
In recognition of Japan's struggling economy, the Kan government hopes to achieve the changes with a slight reduction in overall budget.
Kosuke Takahashi, the Tokyo correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly, said this could be achieved by changing the top-heavy nature of Japan's forces, which have a glut of senior desk-bound staff on high salaries.
The guidelines suggest overall force numbers will fall from 155,000 to 154,000 and the number of tanks and artillery pieces will be cut by half.
The Kan government was forced to drop plans to lift the ban on defence exports to shore up links with the Social Democratic Party to help pass its budget.
As revealed by the WikiLeaks cables, the US is keen for Japan to rescind this ban to allow the technology used in the joint US-Japan missile shield to be deployed in Europe
