China may use Japan’s aircraft carrier plan to push through more military spending, observers sayTokyo says it wants to upgrade its Izumo-class destroyers so they can carry and launch fighter jets
Move would be a first since nation adopted its pacifist constitution and could make regional neighbours anxious, experts say
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 15 December, 2018, 6:00am
UPDATED : Saturday, 15 December, 2018, 6:00am
Minnie Chan
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2178102/china-may-use-japans-aircraft-carrier-plan-push-through-moreTokyo’s plan to develop an aircraft carrier capable of launching fighter jets is driven by Beijing’s military rise, but the move could embolden hawkish generals in China to press ahead with their own expansion programmes, observers said.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito Party this week approved a new defence guideline that will effectively allow the Japanese military to convert naval vessels currently capable of carrying only helicopters into fully operational aircraft carriers able to launch fighter jets like the F-35.
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The plan was “obviously targeting China”, Song said as Beijing had accelerated its own naval build up with the addition of advanced destroyers and aircraft carriers.
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Collin Koh Swee Lean, a defence expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said that Tokyo’s plan might provoke a backlash not only from China but also the two Koreas, and intensify naval competition in northeast Asia.
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