Japan's militarization plans brew troubles: China Daily editorial

Japan seems intent on stepping up unsettling efforts to strengthen its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to a US Naval News website report on Tuesday, as well as two large warships dedicated to ballistic missile defense that it is building to replace the canceled land-based Aegis missile defense system, Japan plans to build two new destroyers equipped with the US' Aegis missile system, increasing the number from eight to 10. That means that it will have more Aegis destroyers than the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, which has nine Aegis destroyers stationed in Japan.

The Aegis ship combat system is an integrated collection of sensors, computers, software, displays, weapon launchers and weapons deployed on all the US Navy's cruisers and destroyers, except the three Zumwalt-Class stealth destroyers.

To justify its militarization, which will overturn its postwar defense strategy, Japan has cited threats from Russia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and, of course, China.

According to the report, Japan has justified the need for more Aegis-equipped vessels with the claim that "Considering possible armed conflicts with China in the future, it is necessary to increase the number of Aegis destroyers to protect the fleet from Chinese anti-ship missile attacks".

Last month, the Japanese Cabinet approved three defense documents, the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Program Guidelines and the Mid-Term Defense Program, all of which, echoing the Joe Biden administration's National Security Strategy, refer to China as Japan's "biggest strategic challenge".

Of course, this is nothing but an excuse for Japan to let the military genie out of the bottle, which it has long hoped to do.

The documents pave the way for Japan's biggest post-war military build-up plan, under which Japan will spend 43 trillion yen ($313 billion) over the next five years to strengthen its military, buying cruise missiles "capable of striking China" and developing hypersonic weapons, among other things.

To match its growing military ambition, in mid-December Japan approved a record-high $51 billion draft defense budget for fiscal year 2023, up 26.3 percent from the previous fiscal year, which roughly accounts for 2 percent of Japan's GDP and breaks the 1 percent benchmark that had been maintained for six decades.

Given that Japan has yet to truly repent for the war atrocities it committed in World War II, a right-leaning Japan that is breaking free of the constraints of its so-called pacifist Constitution should sound the alarm for all peace-loving people and countries in the region and beyond.

Japanese politicians' attempts to rebuild the country as an "Asian military and political power" through leveraging the strength of its alliance with the US are leading their country onto a dangerous road of militarization, which paints a gloomy picture for regional peace and stability as it will only brew troubles.