Japan Passes Record Defense Budget in Bid to Defend Isles By Isabel Reynolds and Maiko Takahashi - 14 ม.ค. 2558 07:54:31 Japan will step up spending on amphibious vehicles and purchase its first unmanned surveillance aircraft as it seeks to bolster defense of remote islands amid a territorial dispute with China. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet today approved a record defense budget of 4.98 trillion yen ($42 billion) for the fiscal year starting April, up 2 percent from the previous year and just above the previous record of 4.96 trillion yen reached in 2002. Abe has sought to transform Japan’s security stance since taking office in December 2012. Last year he eased a long-standing ban on arms exports and reinterpreted the pacifist constitution to allow Japan to defend other countries. He has vowed to protect Japan’s remote islands, as Japanese and Chinese ships tail one another around disputed islets in the East China Sea. Funds have been allocated this year for island defense and surveillance equipment, including 30 AAV7 amphibious vehicles, according to documents provided to journalists by the defense ministry. Japan will buy its first unmanned reconnaissance aircraft -- three Northrop Grumman Global Hawks. It will also purchase its first five Bell Boeing V-22 aircraft, which can fly long distances like a fixed-wing plane and take off and land like a helicopter, enabling them to be deployed from ships Japan will also buy 6 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets and 20 P-1 maritime patrol aircraft, produced by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The military will set up a new base on the island of Yonaguni, close to the disputed territory, for surveillance purposes. The budget figure for 2015 includes 10.8 billion yen for the purchase of two official jets used largely for foreign trips by the emperor or prime minister, as well as costs for reducing the burden on local residents of a reorganization of U.S. forces in Japan.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 09:53:02 +0000
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