On Monday, January 28, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking in the country's parliament, announced the continuation of the policy of strengthening the military-political alliance with the United States. In his opinion, relations with the United States are the basis of "ensuring the security of Japan."

Abe added that the alliance with Washington is now "even stronger than before," and has "great deterrent power." He also noted that the government pays great attention to the development of ground forces, naval forces and air forces, as well as the country's defense capabilities in cyberspace and space.

Commenting on the policy in the Chinese direction, Abe said that relations between Tokyo and Beijing "have recently completely returned to normal." According to him, both states are set to move from rivalry to cooperation.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces view the PRC as a source of military threat. In mid-January, Major General Shinichi Aoki, commander of the Marine Brigade (MP) of Japan, stated that the country was experiencing certain difficulties in protecting the southwestern islands bordering on China. It is for this reason that Tokyo is building up military power, said a high-ranking officer. His statement led the American edition of the Military Times.

In December 2018, the Japanese government approved a package of documents that provide for the acquisition of weapons worth $ 243 billion over the next five financial years. The rationale for such a large-scale procurement is the growing economic and military competition from China in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR).

  • Japan Navy Kawasaki P-1 Patrol Aircraft
  • AFP
  • © Kazuhiro NOGI

In particular, Tokyo plans to acquire 147 F-35 Lightning II fifth generation fighter aircraft, including 42 version B aircraft with a shortened takeoff and vertical landing. This will increase the number of fighter squadrons of self-defense forces from 12 to 13 units.

In addition, Japan intends to include in the Armed Forces unmanned aerial vehicles of various types, heavy military transport helicopters CH-47JA Chinook (assembled in Japan under a license from Boeing) and 12 Kawasaki P-1 patrol aircraft. Also, the Asian power will invest in improving the orbital grouping, air defense system, missile defense and other types of weapons.

As noted by the Military Times, the military-political leadership of Japan is concerned about the "expansion" of China in the APR, the growth in the number of flights of combat aircraft and campaigns of the PRC Navy. China’s military activity, believed to be in Tokyo, poses a threat to the security of maritime communications in the Pacific.

Territorial dispute

In a conversation with RT, Viktor Kuzminkov, a senior fellow at the Center for Japanese Studies at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted that fears associated with the “Chinese threat” are widespread in Japan. According to him, Tokyo perceives China as a geopolitical adversary.

“It's not only about the memory of frequent bloody wars, although this is also of considerable importance. Tokyo does not want to strengthen China for quite objective reasons. In particular, because of the territorial dispute, and no less fundamental than the situation around the South Kuriles, ”Kuzminkov emphasized.

The belonging of the Senkaku archipelago (Diaoyu), consisting of eight islands, is one of the most pressing issues in Japanese-Chinese relations. These territories, located in the East China Sea, about 250 km from Okinawa, are under Japanese control. According to Kuzminkov, it was this archipelago that Shinichi Aoki, commander of the Japanese Marine Corps Brigade, called for protection.

The dispute around Senkaku between Japan and China has lasted for almost a century and a half. Contradictions escalated in the late 1970s due to the fact that hydrocarbon reserves were found in the archipelago waters. According to Japanese estimates, there are about 700 million tons of oil and 200 billion cubic meters of gas here.

However, the debate around the ownership of Senkak did not prevent Tokyo and Beijing from concluding a peace treaty in 1978. Discussion of the fate of the archipelago and its natural resources was postponed. It is noteworthy that several years ago, the three islands (the Utsuri, Kitako and Minamiko) were in the private ownership of the Japanese family Kurihara. The government paid for the use of the islands rent, but in September 2012 bought them for $ 26 million.

  • Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Yasukuni "Militarist Temple" in Tokyo
  • Reuters
  • © Toru Hanai

In response, on September 14, 2012, six patrol ships of the Chinese Navy defiantly entered the territorial waters near Senkaku. January 30, 2013 there was another alarming incident. According to Tokyo, a Chinese frigate aimed at a Japanese border ship that patrolled the waters off the archipelago.

“The nationalization of the disputed islands has noticeably worsened relations between the two countries. China considers them its native territory. The Chinese have repeatedly landed on Senkaku and even entered into confrontation with the local Japanese police. Tokyo is very annoyed by such behavior of Chinese citizens and regular violations of territorial waters by the naval vessels of this state, ”Kuzminkov explained.

"Natural Counterweight"

As noted by the Military Times, in 2016, Japanese fighters rose 1168 times to escort and intercept foreign military aircraft, 70% of which belonged to China. True, in 2017 and 2018, the intensity of the departures of the Japanese Air Force decreased.

The military threat from China was devoted to the US military intelligence report released in January 2019. The document says that the modernization of the Chinese armed forces could lead to a local armed conflict, including because of Beijing’s desire to establish control over Senkaku.

“Japan for the USA is a natural counterweight to the influence of Russia and China in the APR. It is not by chance that the United States played a leading role in the formation of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, which, in essence, are an ordinary regular army. Moreover, this was done bypassing the Constitution of Japan, which prohibits it from having professional armed forces, ”military expert Yury Knutov said in an interview with RT.

The basic law of Japan was adopted in 1947. His ninth article states that "the Japanese people forever reject war as the sovereign right of the nation, as well as the threat or use of armed force as a means of resolving international disputes."

Japan’s self-defense forces appeared in 1954. In the late 1970s, their number reached 270 thousand people. Japan restored all three types of armed forces that were disbanded in 1945: the Ground Forces, the Naval Self-Defense Forces and the Air Force.

In the ranking of military power Global Firepower Tokyo ranks eighth, behind the United States, Russia, China, India, France, Britain and South Korea. Self-defense forces comprise 310 thousand military personnel (including 63 thousand reservists), 1.5 thousand aircraft, 622 helicopters, 679 tanks, about 800 artillery systems and over 3 thousand armored vehicles.

Due to its insular position, Tokyo pays more attention to the development of the fleet. According to Global Firepower, the country’s Navy has four helicopter carriers, about 36 destroyers, some of which are equipped with the American Aegis missile defense system, which Russia and China consider to be a threat to national security. In addition, the Japanese fleet includes 17 non-nuclear submarines and 25 minesweepers.

  • Japanese and American warships work out interaction at sea
  • © US Navy

“The Japanese fleet, if not to take into account the American, is one of the most modern in East Asia and in the world. Japanese ships are an order of magnitude better than Chinese ships, and submarines are amazingly quiet and are capable of delivering a lot of trouble to a potential enemy, ”Knutov said.

"Balance of Power"

One of the most significant events in the history of the Self-Defense Forces of Japan, experts called the creation in April last year of the first after 1945 brigade of marines. The number of units amounted to 2 thousand people, but soon it will be brought up to 3 thousand. Assistance to the formation of the brigade of the MP of the Asian state was provided by the US Marine Corps.

After receiving a state-of-the-art technology unit, the unit will be able to land on enemy territory by parachute, to land on armored personnel carriers and motorboats. Marines will be armed with various armored vehicles, 120-mm and 81-mm mortars and anti-tank complexes.

“The appearance of the Marine Corps indicates Japan’s readiness to conduct expeditionary operations, albeit on a limited scale. I have no doubt that in the future the number of marines and the number of tasks assigned to it will increase. Tokyo has all the necessary resources for the development of landing forces, ”Knutov said.

  • Soldiers of the self-defense forces of Japan on parade
  • Reuters
  • © Issei Kato

In China, the deployment of a marine brigade as part of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces was negatively perceived. Commenting on this event, the official publication of the CPC Central Times Global Times suspected Tokyo of justifying "militarism, towards which the countries of the region should be on high alert."

Viktor Kuzminkov believes that neither Japan nor China will not abandon military buildup. According to him, a significant role in this process will be played by the United States, which does not benefit from strengthening the positions of the PRC in the APR.

“The United States will always stand behind the Japanese. Of course, the Americans will not give away their weapons for free. By the way, whether they are reliable allies for Tokyo is difficult to say. For example, Americans maintain neutrality on the Senkaku Islands, although for Japan the question of their territorial affiliation is of fundamental nature, ”said Kuzminkov.

Yury Knutov believes that the current policies of Japan and the United States are aimed at splitting the strengthening military-political partnership between Russia and China. The expert expressed confidence that Tokyo and Washington will make maximum efforts to prevent further rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing.

“From the point of view of Japan and the USA, the strengthening of China and Russia upsets the current balance of forces in the region. For this reason, they very often complain about China’s military activity in the APR and at strengthening the defense of the Kuriles, which Moscow has been occupied in recent years. However, there is one caveat - this balance of power is beneficial only to Japan and the United States, ”concluded Knutov.