Japan is stepping up the bid to upgrade the Self-Defence Forces and put it on a real war format.
It is trying to dispatch the SDF to the RIMPAC military exercise which is slated to take place from the middle to the end of August.
Defence Minister Kono, at the press conference held after a cabinet ministers’ meeting on July 14, said that the Aegis warship and helicopter carrying escort ship of the Maritime SDF would take part in the exercise and the drill is aimed at coping with enemy warships, submarines and aircraft.
The SDF which recently possessed two Osprey transport planes is also going to increase the number of the aircraft to 17 in five years.
What is more serious is that the government is examining an alternative to Aegis Ashore.
At the recent session of the diplomacy and defence committee of the House of Councillors, Kono said that they have all options on the table concerning the examination of a new missile defence system and do not exclude the possibility of possession of the ability to attack enemy bases.
The public is of the opinion that Japan’s missile defence means the attack on the enemy base geared to striking its missile launch site before any fire and such an attack is fraught with the serious danger of preemptive strike.
Not only analysts but also Japanese politicians say the remark will trigger a backlash from the neighbouring countries as they express the fear that it might accelerate an arms race in East Asia and aggravate its security environment.
The Japanese government is trying hard to weaken the growing opposition at home and abroad as it talks about “self-defensive counterattack ability” and “proactive self-defence capacity”, but it cannot cover up its true intention.
Delegation of DPRK Ministry of External Economic Relations leaves for Iran
A delegation of the DPRK Ministry of External Economic Relations led by Minister Yun Jong Ho left Pyongyang by air on April 23 to
April 25, 2024
A delegation of the DPRK Ministry of External Economic Relations led by Minister Yun Jong Ho left Pyongyang by air on April 23 to
