Japan Cabinet OKs record defense budget amid China concern

His defence strategy has also provoked unease in China and South Korea, which were victims of Japan’s aggressive colonial and military campaigns through the end of World War II.

Military spending would rise 1.5 percent from this year, the fourth annual increase under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who ended a decade of defense budget cuts.

Abe’s Cabinet approved a 5.05 trillion yen (41.90 billion US dollars) military budget for fiscal 2016, with the amount allocated rising 1.5 percent from levels in 2015 and totaling the most since record keeping began.

According to Kyodo, the budget for the year starting in April will cover military equipment for expanded overseas operations to be used by the Self-Defense Forces once the new security laws – permitting the defense of allies under armed attack – are implemented in March. The approval by the cabinet now needs the parliament’s consent.

Japan is increasingly wary of China, which is seen by several countries in the region as becoming increasingly aggressive in various sovereignty claims, including a dispute over island ownership with Tokyo.

It also wants three Global Hawk drones, six hi-tech F-35 stealth fighters and four V-22 Osprey – crossover aircraft that have the manoeuverability of helicopters and the range of airplanes.

Saddled with a huge national debt more than double the size of GDP, Japan has pledged to restore fiscal health with the goal of turning the primary balance deficit into a surplus by fiscal 2020.

But as he marks three years in office on Saturday, the scale of Mr Abe’s self-appointed task may be coming back to haunt him.

The cost to move some of them to Guam and a contentious plan to move the U.S. Marine air base from the crowded Futenma area to a less-populated location on Okinawa was also added to the budget.

Japan will up the number of its combat tanks as well as its amphibious vehicles, the defense ministry has said, and manufacturers are building a Soryu-class of submarine, one of the biggest in the world, with a new sonar system, in the hopes of becoming a chief supplier of Australia’s next generation submarines. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.

Be Civil – It’s OK to have a difference in opinion but there’s no need to be a jerk.