Japan, faced with rising China, shifts its strategy

[Reashot Xigwin]

04:45 AM Nov 28, 2012

TOKYO - After years of watching its international influence eroded by economic decline, pacifist Japan is trying to raise its profile in a new way, offering military aid for the first time in decades and displaying its own armed forces in an effort to build regional alliances and shore up other countries' defences to counter a rising China.

Already this year, Japan crossed a little-noted threshold by providing its first military aid abroad since the end of World War II, approving a US$2 million (S$2.44 million) package for its military engineers to train troops in Cambodia and East Timor in disaster-relief and skills like road building.

Japanese warships have not only conducted joint exercises with a growing number of military forces in the Pacific and Asia, they have also begun making regular port visits to countries long fearful of a resurgence of Japan's military.

And after stepping up civilian aid programmes to train and equip the coast guards of other nations, Japanese defence officials and analysts say, Japan could soon reach another milestone: Starting sales in the region of military hardware like seaplanes and, perhaps eventually, the stealthy diesel-powered submarines considered well suited to the shallow waters where China is making increasingly assertive territorial claims.

Taken together, those steps, while modest, represent a significant shift for Japan, which had resisted repeated calls from the United States to become a true regional power for fear that would move it too far from its postwar pacifism.

The driver for Japan's shifting national security strategy is its tense dispute with China over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that is feeding Japanese anxiety that their country's relative decline - and the financial struggles of their country's traditional protector, the US - are leaving them increasingly vulnerable.

"During the Cold War, all Japan had to do was follow the US," said Mr Keiro Kitagami, a special adviser on security issues to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. "With China, it's different. Japan has to take a stand on its own."

Japan's moves do not mean it might transform its military, which serves a purely defensive role, into an offensive force anytime soon. The public has resisted past efforts by some politicians to revamp Japan's pacifist constitution and the nation's vast debt will limit how much military aid it can extend.

But it is also clear that attitudes in Japan are evolving as China continues its double-digit annual growth in military spending and asserts that it should be in charge of the islands Japan claims as well as vast swathes of the South China Sea that various South-east Asian nations say are in their control.

China, which itself suffered mightily in imperial Japan's 20th-century territorial grabs, has reacted with warnings that Japan is trying to overturn the outcome of World War II by staging a military comeback.

Japanese officials say their strategy is not to begin a race for influence with China, but to build up ties with other nations that share worries about their imposing neighbour. They acknowledge that even building the capacity of other nations' coast guards is a way of strengthening their ability to stand up to any Chinese threat.

"We want to build our own coalition of the willing in Asia to prevent China from just running over us," said Professor Yoshihide Soeya, Director of the Institute of East Asian Studies at Keio University in Tokyo.

The US has generally welcomed such efforts by Japan, which are in line with its own strategy of building up Asian nations militarily so they can stand their ground against China, as well as expanding a US military presence in the region. Japan's Ministry of Defence said it planned to double its military aid programme next year to help Indonesia and Vietnam.

Vietnam could also be among the countries Japan would allow to buy its submarines, according to former Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, who named Australia and Malaysia as other possible buyers.

"Japan has been insensitive to the security needs of its regional neighbours," he said in a recent interview. "We can offer much to increase their peace of mind." The New York Times

TODAYonline | World | Japan, faced with rising China, shifts its strategy

Yes, this is what I've been waiting for! A possible rise of another Imperial Japan (or at least a stronger Japan)

10.000 YEARS!!!

 

[rcrmj]

only if the american daddy nodds its head````but i dont see that coming

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

Japan Proposed Indonesia Amphibians
09 November 2012

Shin Maywa US-2 amphibian (photo : robotpig)

Japan's defense ministry offered Indonesia ShinMaywa amphibians US-2, according to Jane's. According to the company Eiiti Negisi (Eiichi Negishi), interested in the Indonesian military aircraft. Preliminary talks have already been held, however, is probably a direct purchase of equipment will not be performed.

Currently, the Ministry of Defence of Indonesia is preparing requirements for new amphibious aircraft to be procured on the basis of the relevant tender. When exactly will be a competition, is still unknown. Indonesia intends to use the amphibious aircraft for search and rescue operations as well as to monitor the territorial waters.

According to Negisi, ShinMaywa became actively involved in the international market, as sales of the company's aircraft in Japan is extremely small. In November 2011, the Japanese government allowed ShinMaywa engage in export activities, allowing the company to take part in the Indian tender.

US-2 aircraft at the length and wingspan of 33 meters capable of speeds up to 560 kilometers per hour and fly at a distance of 4.7 thousand kilometers. The aircraft can carry up to 20 passengers.

It should be noted that shortly after Japan authorized ShinMaywa do exports of military and dual-use items, the government eased the ban on military exports, in effect since 1967.

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

only if the american daddy nodds its head````but i dont see that coming

The US support the idea, but there's still no official statement from Washington.

The US has generally welcomed such efforts by Japan, which are in line with its own strategy of building up Asian nations militarily so they can stand their ground against China, as well as expanding a US military presence in the region.

 

[Battle of Bach Dang River]

"We want to build our own coalition of the willing in Asia to prevent China from just running over us," said Professor Yoshihide Soeya, Director of the Institute of East Asian Studies at Keio University in Tokyo.

Yes, I like this idea!

 

[rcrmj]

The US support the idea, but there's still no official statement from Washington.

if the U.S 'allows' Japan to have strong and independent military capability then it will allow Japan to have its indeginous defence industry, however for 3 decades regardless of Japan's strong economy and advanced tech sector it still does not have a compelte defence industry and no strategic weapons

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

if the U.S 'allows' Japan to have strong and independent military capability then it will allow Japan to have its indeginous defence industry, however for 3 decades regardless of Japan's strong economy and advanced tech sector it still does not have a compelte defence industry and no strategic weapons

What about the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries & the likes?
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[jhungary]

Japan need to step up on defense issue and transform their own Defense force long time ago. With more and more potent visit and oversea deployment, Japan is at least trying to change their current way of depending the US.

It also serve another purpose, where Japan can take the D into their own and have US give up or decrease troop level needed in Japan, which is what Japanese always wanted.

from the course of it, as long as Japan did not make any offensive weapon, US are going to allow Japan everymove to strengthen up their defence.

On another term, selling weapon may be a good way for economic recovery for the Japanese too.

 

[cirr]

I see some people，who are so fearful of China's rise， are fast becoming desperate。

Too late dudes。 China is growing 1-trillion-US-dollar plus a year now，and will soon be growing 2-trillion-dollar a year。

If you guys ever wants a war，China is happy and ready to oblige。

You will be bombed back to stone age。

In the meantime China、the US and a euro zone headed by Germany are trading with each other ever so happily。

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

from the course of it, as long as Japan did not make any offensive weapon, US are going to allow Japan everymove to strengthen up their defence.

What kind of Offensive weapons?

 

[Viet]

Abe: Let retired SDF warships defend Senkakus
The Japan Times Online | Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012

Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe proposed Thursday using retired Self-Defense Forces vessels to defend the uninhabited Senkaku Islands.

Retired vessels and SDF reserves should be transferred to the Japan Coast Guard to protect the islets, he said in a Tokyo speech.

"It will take as long as two years to build new patrol vessels for the coast guard even if budgets are allocated now," he said.

"China is obviously trying to wrest control of the islands," Abe said.

China sends ships to waters around the islands every day and sends a message to the world that the area is Chinese sea, Abe said, adding China may say that it has established its effective control of the islets and ask Japan to jointly manage them.

In such a case, it will be a question of whether Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. security treaty that requires the United States to defend Japan can be applied to the territory, he noted.

Abe said Japan first needs to prevent Chinese ships' intrusion into its territorial waters by physical force.

 

[jhungary]

What kind of Offensive weapons?

Offensive weapon is typically defined as weapon that exceed the defensive use.

Weapon such as Long Range bomber, Capital Warship, Intercontiental Missile, First Strike Ballistic Submarine, stealth bomber, technically speaking stealth fighter are also should not be permitted but this is kind of a grey area

 

[Viet]

only if the american daddy nodds its head````but i dont see that coming

I think Japan military is important for balance of power in Asia. A rise of Japan is good for Vietnam since we are friends.
Who cares of what China thinks?

 

[ahfatzia]

As China showcases carrier, global naval balance shifting


(Reuters) - China has showcased its first aircraft carrier landings while maintenance woes have reduced the United States to a single carrier in the Gulf, pointing to the beginnings of a subtle shift in the balance of naval power.

With South China Sea tensions growing, the threat of Middle East conflict still very real and counterterrorism and counter piracy operations also demanding resources, demands on Western navies - and the U.S. in particular - seem ever-growing.

Even as it emerged that problems with the USS Nimitz would leave Washington unable to maintain its standard two-carrier Gulf force for the first time since 2010, its navy found itself sending new forces to a volatilce eastern Mediterranean.

Tough choices loom, with the U.S. military facing years of tighter spending - and the prospect of even starker reductions from sequestration still very real just as European allies seem less able than ever to offer support.

"None of these developments is overwhelming or shocking in its own right," says Nikolas Gvosdev, professor of national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College.

"But they point to a larger trend. The U.S. is going to have to get used to not always having the capability to be everywhere. There are going to be more gaps, and there are going to be other countries that fill those gaps."

With its own domestic energy production potentially freeing the United States from dependence on Middle East oil, some are beginning to ask whether the world's pre-eminent superpower should bear the cost of being global maritime policeman everywhere.

"I don't believe you're going to see the U.S. pull back from being the only force capable of protecting global sea lanes," said Gary Roughead, a veteran former admiral who retired last year as Chief of U.S. Naval Operations and now distinguished visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.

"But I do think there is going to be a very considerable policy debate - and probably a good one to have."

The challenge from an increasingly assertive China is becoming more obvious. Even with double-digit defense budget increases, Beijing's growing fleet remains well behind that of Washington, both in numbers of major ships and capability.

But China's announcement on Sunday of landings on its first operational carrier the Liaoning - a reconditioned Soviet era vessel purchased from Ukraine ostensibly for use as a casino - will unnerve some of its already jumpy neighbors.

With the exception of a small force in the Indian Ocean to counter piracy, China's entire naval focus remains on its immediate neighborhood - the South China Sea, particularly Taiwan, and disputed waters with Japan, Vietnam and others.

The United States, in contrast, finds itself stretched much thinner as it spreads its forces around the globe. If it is to follow through on its "Asia pivot" and match Beijing in its backyard, it may have to decide which other areas of the world to ignore.

COUNTING CARRIERS

The retirement this month of the USS Enterprise after half a century of service will bring Washington once again down to 10 carriers. With maintenance and training requirements, however, it can often only call on half that number at any given time.

Keeping one pair in the Gulf and another in Asia, experts say, could prove ultimately unsustainable.

That does not particularly worry naval officers who have long juggled limited resources around the globe. But it may force U.S. policymakers to moderate the expectations they have of both their own fleet and that of allies.

Europe's only "super carrier", the French "Charles de Gaulle", has also spent much of this year in refit after last year's Libya campaign. Italy and Spain have much smaller carriers, while one-time naval superpower Britain has none after scrapping its three vessels as part of major defense cuts.

Two larger British carriers, the "Queen Elizabeth" and "Prince of Wales", will enter service towards the end of the decade.

Having spent the last decade experimenting with landing aircraft on a ground-based mockup of a carrier flight deck, Beijing is clearly keen to make up for lost time. Several domestically built carriers are now under construction.

"The balance is clearly moving in the direction of emerging economies," says Christian le Mierre, naval analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

"There is a lot of focus on the Chinese carrier but people tend to forget India will also be operating three carriers within a decade."

Aircraft carriers alone do not define the strength of navies, he said. The U.S. Navy also has an unmatched number of amphibious warfare ships and other vessels from which you can deploy helicopters, vertical takeoff aircraft and drones as well as Marines and special forces.

With carriers in short supply, such ships have been become increasingly important. Several were sent into the eastern Mediterranean last week.

Washington can also use a variety of land bases, such as a base in Djibouti from which it is widely believed to have launched special force operations into Somalia and perhaps elsewhere. Submarines can hit targets well inland with missiles.

Even there, however, China is believed to be starting to close the gap. Earlier this month, it announced it would be sending nuclear ballistic missile-carrying submarines to sea for the first time.

RE-EXAMINING PRIORITIES

For now, the U.S. Navy's approach to the world remains broadly unchanged. Where there is trouble, they will send additional forces moved from areas they hope will remain calmer.

Having kept at least one aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean throughout most of the Cold War and Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, in recent years the United States had quietly pulled back.

That, however, is now changing as the increasingly chaotic aftermath of the "Arab Spring" has brought instability to Egypt, conflict to Libya and Syria, Al Qaeda militancy to Mali, and further complicated this month's conflict in Gaza.

Earlier this year, Washington announced it would move four destroyers to the Spanish port of Rota and analysts expect a heightened presence elsewhere in the region - although a permanent carrier presence is seen as simply unachievable.

The military planning of all other major powers, experts say, almost invariably assumes the United States will continue that global approach. Even potential foes such as China are effectively dependent on U.S. naval power keeping global trade routes open.

In reality, however, other states may have to step up more quickly than they ever expected.

The global response to Somali piracy - in which the European Union, NATO, China, India Japan and others sent separate forces informally organized through meetings and an Internet chat room - might be a clue to the future. Shipowners welcomed the naval deployments, but have increasingly taken matters into their own hands by hiring armed guards.

"The future is going to be a lot more ad hoc coalitions," says Gvosdev at the U.S. Naval War College. "Others may have to take up the slack much more than they had expected."

As China showcases carrier, global naval balance shifting | Reuters


Personally I don't think Japan, with a $13 trillion of debts and much urging spending, can afford to remilitarized.

For those who are rooting for a militarily strong Japan you might just get it one day and when that day comes you' regret your wishes. The Japanese people are nothing like the Americans, Germans or the Chinese, so be prepare to welcome them!

 

[Viet]

As China showcases carrier, global naval balance shifting

Personally I don't think Japan, with a $13 trillion of debts and much urging spending, can afford to remilitarized.

For those who are rooting for a militarily strong Japan you might just get it one day and when that day comes you' regret your wishes. The Japanese people are nothing like the Americans, Germans or the Chinese, so be prepare to welcome them!

This time is different. Like China, we welcome a peaceful rise of Japan. As for the debt, Japan can print the money, there is no worry that Japan goes bankrupt.

Japanese infantrymen on patrol on Okinawa (1945)