Japan’s cabinet approves record defence budget amid escalating China tensions | Japan
Japan’s cabinet has approved a record-high defense budget as tensions with China continue to rise, with Beijing this week accusing Tokyo of “fueling an arms race in space”.
The draft defense budget for the next fiscal year approved on Friday is more than ¥9 trillion ($58 billion) and 9.4% larger than the previous budget, which expires in April. The increase comes in the fourth year of Japan’s five-year program to double annual arms spending to 2% of GDP.
The budget plan focuses on strengthening coastal defense and response capability with surface-to-ship missiles and unmanned arsenals. To defend the coast, Japan will spend 100 billion yen to deploy “massive” unmanned aerial, sea surface and underwater drones for surveillance and defense under a system called “Shield” planned for March 2028, defense ministry officials said.
The budget increase comes at a time of escalating hostilities between the Chinese and Japanese governments. Beijing has consistently opposed strengthening Japan’s defenses, but relations soured last month when Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said Japan would likely intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan as part of Beijing’s plans to annex the region.
Takaichi’s remarks sparked an angry response from Beijing, which launched a series of diplomatic and economic retaliatory moves. Takaichi refused to retract his comments, and the government maintained that they constituted no change in Japan’s defense policies.
Chinese government officials continued to publicly rail against Tokyo, taking notice of any military-related announcements.
On Thursday, China’s defense ministry said at a regular press briefing that Japan’s latest space technology developments – some in cooperation with the United States – “are accelerating the weaponization and militarization of space and fueling the arms race in space.”
According to Japanese media, Tokyo has launched multiple rockets since March 2023 carrying cargo spacecraft and satellites for GPS systems and intelligence gathering.
“Given that Japan’s ruthless militarists once launched sneak attacks and the country now adopts an aggressive space policy, it is hardly surprising that concerns are growing about another Pearl Harbor scenario,” defense ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said on Sunday.
Japan’s postwar constitution prohibits it from using force as a means of resolving international disputes, but an amendment adopted in 2015 when Takaichi’s mentor Shinzo Abe was prime minister allows it to engage in collective self-defense in certain situations even when not under direct attack.
Japan’s current security strategy identifies China as the country’s biggest strategic challenge and calls for it to take a more assertive role in security cooperation with the United States.
China’s defense ministry on Thursday criticized the United States for its continued support for Taiwan, a week after the United States approved more than $10 billion in arms sales to Taipei. The United States does not recognize Taiwan diplomatically, but it is Taiwan’s most important supporter in resisting China’s threats of annexation and is mandated under U.S. law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Last week, the US Senate also passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes authority to spend up to $1 billion in 2026 on security cooperation related to Taiwan.
Zhang accused the United States of “promoting Taiwan’s independence” and undermining peace and stability.
China is in the midst of a years-long overhaul and modernization of its military, largely aimed at seizing Taiwan by force. Beijing claims that Taiwan is a province that should be “reunified” with the mainland, but an overwhelming majority of Taiwanese people reject this possibility. The rapidly growing navy and air force are expanding further beyond their borders and are involved in numerous incidents with other militaries.
Earlier this month, Chinese planes locked their radars on Japanese planes during exercises near southwestern Japan, prompting Tokyo to protest. Radar locking is considered one of the most threatening actions a military aircraft can take because it signals a potential attack, forcing the targeted aircraft to take evasive action.
Zhang said China’s defense spending was reasonable and moderate and its activities were “fully in line with international law.”
Additional research by Jason Tzu Kuan Lu
