Japan highlights China challenge in security policy

Bloomberg

Japan described China as an “unprecedented strategic challenge” in a new national security policy that sets the long-pacifist nation on course for its biggest increase in defense spending since the end of World War II.
The new strategy, approved by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet and seen by Bloomberg in a draft, laid out plans for Japan to develop its own hypersonic missiles as part of a radical upgrade of its defense capabilities, from the coast guard to cybersecurity.
“We considered whether our current Self-Defense Forces could deter threats against our country, and whether they could defend the country if those threats became real,” Kishida told reporters in Tokyo.
“To be frank, the status quo isn’t sufficient.”
The shift was triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, tensions over Taiwan that prompted China to lob ballistic missiles into waters close to Japanese islands earlier this year, and North Korea stepping up its missile launches, including one that flew over Japan for the first time in five years.
The emphasis on China as a focus of security concerns marks a break with past policy, which cited the threat from North Korea as the primary reason for the need to strengthen missile defense.
It comes just as Kishida’s government attempts to warm chilly ties with China after a summit with President Xi Jinping in Thailand last month. Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi may visit Beijing as soon as this month, according to Japanese national broadcaster NHK.
“We see China as a strategic challenge to our country’s peace and safety and the peace and stability of the international community,” Kishida said. He added the two neighbours bear a joint responsibility for the peace and prosperity of the region and the world.
Referring to a “remarkable” build-up of missile capability in the region, the government said in the document it is becoming difficult to deal with the situation simply by strengthening the country’s existing missile defense network.
The strategy calls for acquiring “counterstrike capability” that would enable Japan to target an enemy’s military facilities, in a turning point for a country bound by a pacifist constitution since 1947.
Raytheon Technologies Corp’s Tomahawk missiles are being considered for that purpose, according to the document.