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World Affairs, I.R.
Mahesh

20/12/22 12:40 PM IST

Japan unveils historic $320 billion military build-up since World War II

In News
  • Japan recently unveiled its biggest military build-up since World War Two with a $320 billion plan that will buy missiles capable of striking China.
About the plan
  • The five-year plan, which is to be implemented with a total budget of 320 billion USD, will make Japan the third-largest military spender in the world after the United States and China.
  • The catalyst for this decision may probably be Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Beijing’s growing belligerence, which indicates the possibility of China capturing Taiwan in the future.
  • There is also the threat of China’s claim over the uninhabited Senkaku Islands and the possibility of the Chinese takeover of those islands.
  • Kishida's plan will double defence outlays to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years, blowing past a self-imposed 1% spending limit that has been in place since 1976.
  • It will increase the defence ministry's budget to around a tenth of all public spending at current levels.
Significance
  • Article 9 states that “the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.
  • A 2012 report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies found that Japan has the sixth-best funded defence forces in the world.
  • As part of its overall security strategy, Japan is planning to boost its long-range strike capability with both imported and indigenous long-range weapons.
  • This indicates that Japan is planning to maintain close ties with the United States and other like-minded countries, especially those in the Indo-Pacific.
Source- Live Mint

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