Japan has allocated a record high $51.7 billion to significantly bolster its military power in the face of continuing territorial provocations by China.
Japan's new defense budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year will boost the long-range strike capabilities of the Japan Self-Defense Force against China.
It will see the development and acquisition of longer range missiles for the army; the building of new destroyers capable of shooting down Chinese ballistic missiles and the acquisition of more Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth jets for the air force.
Apart from acquiring longer-range firepower, the JSDF is also preparing to arm and train combat units to attack distant land targets in China, North Korea and other parts of Asia.
The new defense budget is a 1.1% increase over the current fiscal year but pales in comparison to China's military spending, which increased by 6.6% this year. It's also the first defense budget under Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and is also another record high for the seventh consecutive year.
Suga has promised to stay the course set by his friend and former prime minister Abe Shinzo, who made strengthening the Japanese military in the face of threats from China and North Korea a key pillar of his tenure.
Among the key warfighting components of the new defense spending bill:
* $234 million to double the range of existing Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles deployed on land so these can destroy Chinese warships at longer range. Type 12 batteries are deployed around the southwestern Okinawa island chain.
The extended-range missiles will require five years to develop. The Ministry of Defense plans to double the missile's existing range to 400 km, and later to 900 km.
Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said Japan must respond to China's increasing naval provocations around the Senkaku islands, while securing the safety of JSDF personnel. He said standoff missiles are vital in defending the islands and to attain these ends.
* The ministry has initially set aside $16.4 million to prepare for building two new Aegis destroyers that will replace two canceled Aegis Ashore systems Japan was forced to scrap earlier this year.
The government estimates the two new destroyers plus the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system will ultimately cost from $4.6 billion to $4.8 billion, which is 20% to 30% higher than the estimated costs of Aegis Ashore. It will require five years to build the Aegis destroyers.
* Some $1.15 billion has been allocated for outer space defense. Japan will acquire an optical telescope to monitor unidentified space objects and orbit a satellite constellation to detect hypersonic weapons launched by China and Russia.
* The budget allocates $290 million for cyberspace combat. Money will be spent to establish a new JSDF unit charged with protecting Japan's cybersecurity.
* Some $27 million will go to research costs to develop a system capable of shooting down aerial threats, including drones, with high-power lasers.
* Japan will spend $557 million to develop a next-generation fighter jet to replace the aging Mitsubishi F-2 air superiority fighters of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
