China's activity occupies large bulk of Japan's new defense paper
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The 510-page assessment claims that China, Russia, and the DPRK contribute to "the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II."
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Japanese Special Defense Forces (AFP)
Japan raised on Friday its concerns about China's actions in the region, Beijing's developing military relations with Moscow, and claims on Taiwan in an annual defense paper, the first under Tokyo's new security policy calling for a large military boost.
The document is the first under the government's National Security Strategy, which stressed the need to strengthen strike capabilities with long-range missiles such as Tomahawks, a contentious strategy perceived as a departure from Japan's postwar self-defense-only concept.
The 510-page assessment claimed that China, Russia, and the DPRK contribute to "the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II."
According to the report, China's foreign positions and military actions have become a "serious concern for Japan and the international community, presenting an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge."
It noted that Russia and China have also increased strategic relations, claiming that frequent combined bomber flights and joint navigations of Chinese and Russian warships are "clearly intended for demonstration of force against Japan and of grave concern" to Japan's and the region's security.
The paper mentioned that China and Russia have carried out at least five cooperative bomber flights since 2019, including one in November of last year.
China is expected to have 1,500 nuclear weapons by 2035, as well as gain military supremacy over Taiwan, the document indicated, which intensifies regional tensions and poses a security danger, it added.
Touching on Taiwan and China's reincorporation plans of the island, the newly issued paper noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping, who established a goal of developing a "world-class military" by the mid-twentieth century in 2017, may shift the aim ahead, citing his demand for speedy development of the People's Liberation Army to world-class in his speech at the Communist Party conference in October.
Regarding the DPRK, the document noted that Pyongyang "is rapidly progressing in its nuclear and missile development and poses a graver, more imminent threat to Japan than ever before."
It noted that since the beginning of 2022, the DPRK has tested about 100 missiles, including ICBMs, and the country is now thought to be capable of carrying out nuclear assaults on Japan and the United States.
"The international community is facing its greatest trial since World War II and we have entered a new era of crisis," Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said in the document.
The white paper, approved by the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday morning, comes as Pyongyang ramps up the frequency of its missile tests in response to frequent provocative military measures by Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo.
It is noteworthy that the defense paper comes seven months after Kishida's administration announced new national security and defense objectives, including a pledge to strengthen Japan's military capacity and increase the defense budget to 43 trillion yen ($310 billion) by 2027.
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