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TOKYO Japan will raise military spending this
year for the first time in over a decade under a
ruling party plan, an official said Tuesday, as
Tokyo summoned Beijing's envoy in a territorial
row. The national defence task force of the newly-
elected Liberal Democratic Party will increase the
defence budget request by more than 100 billion
yen ($1.15 billion) in response to an emboldened
China, a party official told AFP. The relatively small amount -- just over two
percent of the total military budget -- is largely
symbolic, but reflects anxiety at what Japan sees
as an increasingly hostile region in which China
appears happy to throw its weight about. "We have decided that the additional budget will
be used for research into a new radar system as
well as fuel and other maintenance costs for
early-warning aircraft," the official said on
condition of anonymity. The news came as the foreign ministry called in
China's ambassador to protest at the latest
dispatch of official vessels into waters around the
Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands, which Beijing
claims as the Diaoyus. The summons was the first under nationalistic
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and is in line with the
tough stance he pushed on China on the
campaign trail in December. Beijing, however, rebuffed the move. Hong Lei,
spokesman for China's foreign ministry, told
reporters in Beijing patrols were "normal"
because the islands are Chinese territory. Nerves in Tokyo have also been rattled by an
unpredictable North Korea. It sent a rocket over
Japan's southern islands last month in what it
insisted was a satellite launch. Tokyo and its allies
said the launch was a covert ballistic missile test. The military is bound by the country's US-
imposed pacifist constitution, which restricts its
ability to project power or to wage aggressive
war. However, commentators say it is a modern,
well-funded and well-equipped force. In the run-up to last month's election, the LDP
pledged to expand the number of personnel in
the Self-Defence Forces and boost their
equipment and spending power. The proposed increase in funding comes after
declines over 10 consecutive years as Tokyo
grappled with its huge public debt. The initial defence budget for fiscal 2012, which
ends in March, stood at 4.65 trillion yen. This
compares with a budget for fiscal 2002 that
peaked at 4.94 trillion yen. Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera has said Abe's
government will review Japan's long-term basic
defence programme, adopted in 2010 under the
Democratic Party of Japan which was routed at
the polls. The current programme includes plans to trim
troop numbers by around 1,000. Kazuhiko Togo, director at the Institute for World
Affairs of Kyoto Sangyo University, said the
planned rise in defence spending was a direct
result of China's more hostile attitude, specifically
over the disputed islands. "China has publicly said it would seize the islands
by force if necessary and acted as such. To avoid
a possible armed clash, Japan has no choice but
to possess deterrence by boosting its defence
budget," he said. Hitoshi Tanaka, former diplomat and chairman of
the Institute for International Strategy at the
Japan Research Institute said at around 0.9
percent of GDP, Japan's defence budget was
comparatively small. "Given the fact that there is a rather difficult
security environment these days, it is only
natural for the government to think about
increasing this," he said. Abe has pledged to improve ties with key ally
the United States and other democracies in the
region, including Australia and India, as a
counterbalance to China. The United States stations some 47,000 troops in
Japan as part of an alliance that enjoys broad
support among political leaders, but is sometimes
unpopular in communities that host bases,
particularly on Okinawa. A rise in defence spending will likely be
welcomed in Washington, which has called for
Tokyo to shoulder more of the burden of regional
security. However, any attempt to reinforce Japan's
military has traditionally aroused suspicion in
countries like China and the two Koreas, which
fell victim to its wartime rampage.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gJ5mdLIZrXMBQvM06O3EypHD6vZA?docId=CNG.c62d8cbab5459267752fc96f66cfd626.2b1
year for the first time in over a decade under a
ruling party plan, an official said Tuesday, as
Tokyo summoned Beijing's envoy in a territorial
row. The national defence task force of the newly-
elected Liberal Democratic Party will increase the
defence budget request by more than 100 billion
yen ($1.15 billion) in response to an emboldened
China, a party official told AFP. The relatively small amount -- just over two
percent of the total military budget -- is largely
symbolic, but reflects anxiety at what Japan sees
as an increasingly hostile region in which China
appears happy to throw its weight about. "We have decided that the additional budget will
be used for research into a new radar system as
well as fuel and other maintenance costs for
early-warning aircraft," the official said on
condition of anonymity. The news came as the foreign ministry called in
China's ambassador to protest at the latest
dispatch of official vessels into waters around the
Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands, which Beijing
claims as the Diaoyus. The summons was the first under nationalistic
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and is in line with the
tough stance he pushed on China on the
campaign trail in December. Beijing, however, rebuffed the move. Hong Lei,
spokesman for China's foreign ministry, told
reporters in Beijing patrols were "normal"
because the islands are Chinese territory. Nerves in Tokyo have also been rattled by an
unpredictable North Korea. It sent a rocket over
Japan's southern islands last month in what it
insisted was a satellite launch. Tokyo and its allies
said the launch was a covert ballistic missile test. The military is bound by the country's US-
imposed pacifist constitution, which restricts its
ability to project power or to wage aggressive
war. However, commentators say it is a modern,
well-funded and well-equipped force. In the run-up to last month's election, the LDP
pledged to expand the number of personnel in
the Self-Defence Forces and boost their
equipment and spending power. The proposed increase in funding comes after
declines over 10 consecutive years as Tokyo
grappled with its huge public debt. The initial defence budget for fiscal 2012, which
ends in March, stood at 4.65 trillion yen. This
compares with a budget for fiscal 2002 that
peaked at 4.94 trillion yen. Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera has said Abe's
government will review Japan's long-term basic
defence programme, adopted in 2010 under the
Democratic Party of Japan which was routed at
the polls. The current programme includes plans to trim
troop numbers by around 1,000. Kazuhiko Togo, director at the Institute for World
Affairs of Kyoto Sangyo University, said the
planned rise in defence spending was a direct
result of China's more hostile attitude, specifically
over the disputed islands. "China has publicly said it would seize the islands
by force if necessary and acted as such. To avoid
a possible armed clash, Japan has no choice but
to possess deterrence by boosting its defence
budget," he said. Hitoshi Tanaka, former diplomat and chairman of
the Institute for International Strategy at the
Japan Research Institute said at around 0.9
percent of GDP, Japan's defence budget was
comparatively small. "Given the fact that there is a rather difficult
security environment these days, it is only
natural for the government to think about
increasing this," he said. Abe has pledged to improve ties with key ally
the United States and other democracies in the
region, including Australia and India, as a
counterbalance to China. The United States stations some 47,000 troops in
Japan as part of an alliance that enjoys broad
support among political leaders, but is sometimes
unpopular in communities that host bases,
particularly on Okinawa. A rise in defence spending will likely be
welcomed in Washington, which has called for
Tokyo to shoulder more of the burden of regional
security. However, any attempt to reinforce Japan's
military has traditionally aroused suspicion in
countries like China and the two Koreas, which
fell victim to its wartime rampage.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gJ5mdLIZrXMBQvM06O3EypHD6vZA?docId=CNG.c62d8cbab5459267752fc96f66cfd626.2b1
