Japan seeks more limber defense force
Jun Iiyama, Nikkei staff writer // December 12, 2013 6:04 am JST
The Osprey can take off and land like a helicopter and fly like a plane.
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TOKYO -- Japan's new defense planning will emphasize speed
and flexibility, with integrated land, sea and air forces and more
maneuverable weaponry.
Government and ruling bloc officials on
Wednesday put together new National Defense Policy Guidelines and an
accompanying medium-term plan. The cabinet is expected to finalize them,
along with Japan's first-ever national security strategy, next week.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's approach to national security addresses
China's widening naval reach and the threat posed by North Korean
nuclear weapons and missiles.
"Dynamic Joint Defense Force,"
which is what the government is calling its concept, differs little in
name from a key principle of the current guidelines, adopted in 2010
under a different ruling party. That idea, called "Dynamic Defense
Force," seeks to boost deterrence by mobilizing units as needed anywhere
in the country. But many in Abe's Liberal Democratic Party oppose
simply copying the Democratic Party of Japan, hence the rebranding.
The
new concept will guide equipment selection for the Self-Defense Forces
in the next five years covered by the medium-term plan. The emphasis on
maneuverability is apparent in the choice of the Osprey, a vertical
take-off and landing transport plane used by the American military that
can move personnel and material faster than helicopters. The Global Hawk
spy drone is also on the government's wish list.
The Ground
SDF will get new rapid-deployment divisions as well as an amphibious
unit. It will also adopt a unified chain of command like the SDF's air
and sea branches. A squadron of E-2C early warning surveillance planes
will take up residence at the Air SDF's Naha base in Okinawa. The
Maritime SDF will get additional small destroyers.
Abe's
government will seek an increase in defense spending compared with the
period covered by the 2010 plans. Officials are eyeing upwards of 24
trillion yen ($230 billion) in outlays over the five years starting next
April.
Photos: Typhoon Haiyan
