16-09-23, 07:16
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Canadas' Navy Arrives as Japan Unveils Biggest Military Build-Up Since World War II
As Canadas' Navy Arrives in Japan, Tokyo Begins Largest Military Build Up Since Second World War
Japan Unveils Biggest Military Build-Up Since World War II
BBC 16 SEP 2023
Royal Canadian Navy vessels HMCS Ottawa and HMCS Vancouver in Yokosuka, Japan, on Aug. 31. Canada has increased its presence in the Indo-Pacific, with new plans to deploy at least three ships each year to the region, as China’s reach and influence in the region expand.
A third of the Royal Canadian Navy's entire Pacific frigate fleet is visiting Japan. Mind you, that's just two vessels.
By contrast, Japan's navy is vastly larger and its government is embarking on its largest military spending spree since the Second World War.
Japan has recently announced a $433-billion upgrade plan to turn its armed forces into a major regional force, buying missiles capable of hitting China and Chinese ships and ensuring Japan will become the world's third-largest spender on defence (after the U.S. and China).
That 65 per cent increase in spending will mean Japan hits the mark of directing two per cent of GDP to defence no later than 2027.
But behind both moves — Canada sending ships to the region and Japan's military investment — is a pushback against China's influence, now with approximately 355 ships and submarines in its navy, making it the world's largest by size.
"Japan is really trying to make sure that it has enough capability to defend itself," said Yuki Tatsumi, director of the Japan program at the Stimson Center, a foreign affairs think-tank in Washington.
That is primarily about ensuring Japan is capable of responding to Chinese threats against its outlying islands and territorial waters — as well as the possibility of a wider confrontation involving Taiwan.
There is also the enduring challenge from the nuclear-armed North Korean regime, which has been firing ballistic missiles toward Japan's territorial waters.
Soldiers with Japan’s Self-Defence Forces disembark from a U.S. military aircraft at Camp Ainoura in Japan in November 2022. Japan is increasing the size of its military, buying and developing fighter jets, long-range missiles and more, as it faces new threats from China and North Korea.
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