On Sunday, during Japan’s first International Fleet Review in 20 years, Prime Minister (PM) Fumio Kishida pledged to strengthen the country’s naval and military capabilities within five years, noting that the “security environment in the East and South China seas, especially around Japan,” is becoming “increasingly more severe.”
Kishida said that although avoiding disputes and seeking dialogue is important, it is equally crucial to be prepared for provocations and threats to peace. To this end, he repeated his pledge to significantly reinforce the island nation’s naval and military defence capability within five years. Tokyo must prepare “for an era when actors emerge to disobey rules and use force or threats to destroy the peace and safety of other nations,” he said.
PM Kishida: Today I participated in the International Fleet Review. I extend my sincere thanks to the members of the Maritime Self-Defense Force for their strong and steadfast sense of mission and day-to-day training, and to their families for their continuous support of (1/2) pic.twitter.com/zDdBbzWSdm
— PM's Office of Japan (@JPN_PMO) November 6, 2022
“Unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, such as the recent invasion of Ukraine, must never be tolerated in any region of the world,” the PM underscored.
The PM added that Japan urgently needs to build more warships, strengthen anti-missile capability, and improve working conditions for troops. “We have no time to waste,” he stated following his review aboard the 248-meter-long JS Izumo, where officers from participating navies gathered to review a demonstration of the frigates, submarines, supply ships, and warplanes in Sagami Bay, off southwest Tokyo.
On Nov 6, #DMHamada and #ParliamentaryVice-MinisterOfDefenseOnoda participated in #InternationalFleetReview. This event was hosted by Japan under the presence of inspector, Prime Minister Kishida, with naval vessels and aircrafts from 14 countries including Japan. pic.twitter.com/FripdvE7q7
— Japan Ministry of Defense/Self-Defense Forces (@ModJapan_en) November 6, 2022
Around 40 warships from 13 countries—the United States (US), Australia, France, Canada, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Brunei—participated in the review, which marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF). The US and France also sent warplanes. Notably, South Korea joined the review for the first time in seven years, a testament to improving relations between the two countries, which have soured over their wartime and territorial disputes.
In recent weeks, the North has conducted a record-breaking flurry of tests, including an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) over Japan last month. Last Wednesday, North Korea fired at least 17 missiles towards South Korea, at least one of which landed near their sea border. It marked the first time that a missile from North Korea landed in close proximity to the South’s territorial waters since the division of the peninsula over 70 years ago. It also fired around 100 artillery shells into the eastern maritime buffer zone established in 2018.
The very next day, it fired an inter-continental ballistic missile as well as two short-range missiles toward South Korea’s eastern waters, forcing Japan to issue an evacuation alert and temporarily halt train services. The actions came in response to Storm Vigilant, the US military’s joint exercise with South Korea.
On Nov 6, #DMHamada and Prime Minister Kishida visited the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. #JMOD/JSDF will further strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan- U.S. alliance and contribute to peace in the region. pic.twitter.com/p78VvCeVZu
— Japan Ministry of Defense/Self-Defense Forces (@ModJapan_en) November 6, 2022
In pursuance of countering this threat, the foreign ministers (FMs) of Japan and South Korea, Yoshimasa Hayashi and Park Jin, agreed last week to jointly counter the growing regional threat posed by North Korea and work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
Apart from threats posed by an unpredictable North Korea, Japan also faces regular threats from Chinese and Russian vessels. Last week, a survey vessel belonging to the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) entered Japan’s territorial waters near islands south of Kyushu. According to Japanese officials, the transit marked the fourth intrusion by a foreign warship this year, including another by a Russian Navy Balzam-class surveillance ship last month.
Japan has been embroiled in a decades-long dispute with China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. In this regard, Japan recently revealed that it is considering increasing the range of a new high-speed missile beyond 1,000 kilometres to help better defend its remote islands. It is also mulling over expanding its artillery by buying US-developed Tomahawk cruise missiles and deploying more than 1,000 long-range cruise missiles to the Nansei island chain as a means to narrow the “cavernous missile gap” with China.
The Japanese Ministry of Defence’s annual white paper released in July underscored that the country’s three biggest threats are China, North Korea, and Russia. In fact, Russia was originally scheduled to take part in the international fleet review but had its invite rescinded after invading Ukraine in February. China, meanwhile, declined its invitation.
🇯🇵 ⚓ 🇨🇦 Thank you, Japan! We had an amazing time this past week for International Fleet Review.
— Royal Canadian Navy (@RoyalCanNavy) November 6, 2022
What an incredible week our sailors had. Meeting and interacting with others from across the globe is always an unforgettable experience.
🌊 SEA you on the high seas! #WeTheNavy pic.twitter.com/Ico7mGPNA0
In light of these growing threats, Japan is reportedly evaluating whether or not to change its national security strategy to include the use of pre-emptive strikes, which critics like China say would violate the country’s pacifist post-war constitution. Kishida also plans to increase defence spending to 2% of the GDP.
It has also been attempting to strengthen its alliance with its allies, including India. In September, the two countries participated in the sixth edition of the Japan-India Maritime Exercise 2022 (JIMEX 22) in the Bay of Bengal. It is set to host the 2022 edition of the Malabar naval exercise, which includes the participation of India, Australia, and the US, from 8-18 November.
Furthermore, the two-day Western Pacific Naval Symposium began in Yokohama today and will see the participation of naval officers from around 30 countries, including China.
It will also participate in US-hosted drills with Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom (with France, India, New Zealand, the Philippines, and South Korea as observers) later this month.