Japan set to announce formally proposed budget a record high of 51.7 billion, seeking to double the payload of 200 F-15 fighter jets in an attempt to cool the Chinese military presence near the southern Japanese islands.
Japan’s military budget for fiscal year 2017, which will end in March 2018, including a number of costly step aims to significantly improve the Japanese military amid rising tensions in the South China Sea in particular and the region in general.
Among other things, Japan is seeking to increase the capacity of the weapon 200 F-15 fighter jets they made in the US, by doubling the number of missiles air-to-air they carry, from 8 to 16 per aircraft.
Japan Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) will also extend the life of air ‘by starting major improvements for the program damaged aircraft.
The proposed military program, which will be formally introduced later this month, reportedly including the purchase amount to be withheld from the controversial fighter jet Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets and the development of unmanned drones, which are planned to be put into operation in 2037.
The large increase in military allocations of Tokyo can be justified in response to the growing hostility towards rivals Beijing longstanding areas including air contacts recently between Chinese and Japanese fighter planes in the East China Sea.
The two countries are involved in a territorial dispute regarding the Senkaku (known by the Chinese as the Diaoyu) Islands to China and Japan hold overlapping claims. West recognizes Japanese control of the Senkaku Islands, a reality that may be less favorable to China in the light of international pressure mounted on Beijing over a separate territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Japan has inflamed historical tensions by calling China to give up claims to the South China Sea, which includes the islands and valuable swath of water through which 40% of world trade shipborne transit every day, despite the fact that Tokyo itself is not a party to the dispute. China has repeatedly warned of war against Japan if it should conduct joint naval operations with the US in the contested area.
