Defense Ambitions
Defense Ambitions
The US, the UK, Australia and Japan have kept sending signals of defense expansion.
Updated: The defense ministers of the US, UK and Australia will reportedly begin to talk about broadening the AUKUS military alliance, with Japan emerging as the leading candidate for inclusion. However, analysts warned that such an alarming move marks the pact further turning into an "Asian NATO," raising concerns over heightened militarism in Japan and potential destabilization in the region.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has announced that it has completed the first of a two-stage modification for its helicopter carrier JS Kaga to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter aircraft.
AUKUS expansion an alarming move destabilizing region: experts
By GT staff reporters
The defense ministers of the US, UK and Australia will reportedly begin to talk about broadening the AUKUS military alliance, with Japan emerging as the leading candidate for inclusion. However, analysts warned that such an alarming move marks the pact further turning into an "Asian NATO," raising concerns over heightened militarism in Japan and potential destabilization in the region.
The expansion of AUKUS would be on "pillar two," which commits the members to jointly developing quantum computing, undersea, hypersonic, artificial intelligence and cyber technology, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
Japan is seen as the first candidate to join in the pact. According to a Reuters report on Sunday, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida "will likely" discuss expanding AUKUS to include Japan during their summit in Washington on Wednesday.
In disregard of the concerns of regional countries and the international community over the risk of nuclear proliferation, the US, the UK and Australia have kept sending signals of AUKUS expansion, co-opting some countries to come on broad, and escalating arms race in the Asia-Pacific to the detriment of peace and stability in the region. China is gravely concerned about it, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference on Monday.
"We oppose relevant countries cobbling together exclusive groupings and stoking bloc confrontation," the spokesperson said, pointing out that Japan in particular needs to earnestly draw lessons from history and stay prudent on military and security issues.
The US, UK and Australia have long been mulling expanding the AUKUS alliance to include more countries. While the "first pillar" of the pact, involving the provision of nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia, has raised concerns over nuclear proliferation, the US has been pushing to invite more countries to join in "pillar two" with the purpose of enhancing AUKUS' influence, serving the goal of implementing its Indo-Pacific strategy and maintaining its hegemony, Xiang Haoyu, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Monday.
Moreover, by encouraging more countries such as South Korea and the Philippines to join AUKUS and other US-led small cliques, the US aims to create various coalitions to besiege China. These efforts are made with a purpose of gaining an upper hand in the strategic competition with China, said Xiang.
The expert noted that Japan has been the prime candidate for inclusion in AUKUS, given its longstanding alliance with the US, advanced technology and position in the global industrial chain. Additionally, it has played an active role in cooperating with the US on its Indo-Pacific strategy.
Japan also has its own motivations for joining the pact, Xiang said, noting that Prime Minister Kishida's cabinet has been actively pursuing increased arms exports to spur domestic defense industry and enhance military capabilities.
Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center of East China Normal University, said that in recent years, Japan has continuously attempted to breach the constraints of its pacifist constitution and views potential inclusion in AUKUS as an opportunity to further this agenda.
Facing a crisis of trust domestically, Kishida also expects to bolster public support by strengthening his defense and foreign policies, Chen told the Global Times, referring to Kishida's upcoming meetings with US President Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos in Washington as well as Japan's participation in joint military exercises with the US, Australia and the Philippines.
Chen warned that Japan's potential entry into AUKUS is concerning, as it could further foment militarism within Japan. Moreover, it could lay the groundwork for the expansion of the military alliance into an Asian equivalent of NATO, raising further alarm over regional security.
The establishment and subsequent expansion of AUKUS have raised significant concerns among regional countries, particularly regarding nuclear proliferation. Analysts said that despite attempts by member states to portray it in positive light, the military alliance is an exclusive clique rooted in Cold War mentality.
Together with other smaller coalitions led by the US, AUKUS could also exacerbate the risks of arms races and confrontations in the region, particularly when it interferes in heated issues such as those in the South China Sea or the Taiwan question, analysts warned.
Japan Completes First Stage Of JS Kaga Modification To Operate F-35B
By Kosuke Takahashi
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has announced that it has completed the first of a two-stage modification for its helicopter carrier JS Kaga to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter aircraft.
“We had carried out the first special modification work on the destroyer Kaga in conjunction with a regular inspection for about two years starting at the end of fiscal year 2021, and the modification was completed as planned on March 29 of this year.” Admiral Ryo Sakai, Chief of staff of the JMSDF.
“The destroyer Kaga is scheduled to undergo various tests (such as sea trials) during this fiscal year after the first modification, and the results of those tests will be reflected in the second special modification of Izumo, which will begin this fiscal year,” Sakai said.
“The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will continue to steadily advance the necessary modifications to acquire the operational capability of the F-35B on Izumo-class destroyers,” the top officer of the JMSDF added.
The service also announced the completion of JS Kaga’s first-stage modification on X on April 6.
According to the JMSDF, the modifications to its two Izumo-class helicopter carriers – JS Izumo (DDH 183) and JS Kaga (DDH 184) –are underway in two main stages to coincide with the vessels’ periodic refit and overhaul programs, which take place every five years.
The JMSDF expects both ships to complete all of the upgrades to become a light aircraft carrier operating F-35B fighters around fiscal year 2027.
As for Kaga, Japan Marine United (JMU) started refit work on at the company’s Kure shipyard in Hiroshima in March 2022. Its initial modifications include the modifications of the bow section of its flight deck into a square shape from a trapezoid, similar to that found on the US Navy’s Wasp-class and America-class amphibious assault ships. The first-stage modifications also include reinforcing the flight deck to support additional weight, placing additional guidance lights, drawing the yellow lines on the flight deck necessary for launching and landing F-35Bs, and fitting the ship with heat-resistant deck spots for vertical landings.
The second and final modifications, which are expected to be made during Kaga‘s next overhaul starting from the end of fiscal year 2026, include changes to the ship’s interior compartments and crew waiting areas.
Kaga was initially scheduled to undergo only a one-time large-scale renovation in conjunction with a large-scale regular inspection that takes place once every five years starting at the end of fiscal 2021.
However, regarding the retrofit improvement of its internal compartments and crew waiting areas, the JMSDF conducted it was necessary to finalize the details of the interior modification only after conducting verification experiments and tests with the cooperation of the U.S. military, and carefully considering the movements and flow lines of crews and goods during actual operations.
For this reason, the remodelling of the ship’s internal compartments was scheduled to be carried out not in conjunction with the regular inspection starting in fiscal 2021, but in conjunction with the regular inspection from the end of fiscal 2026.
Meanwhile, the service has begun the process of converting Izumo into a carrier capable of supporting F-35B operations in Yokohama City of Kanagawa in the first half of 2020, and its first-stage modifications were completed in June 2021 by upgrading the carrier’s fight deck and fitting heat-resistant deck spots for vertical take-offs and landings. A single yellow marking line (tramline) was also drawn on the flight deck from bow to stern. This line is provided on the flight deck of carrier-based aircraft to guide pilots during takeoff and landing. On October 5, 2021, when the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B conducted a takeoff and landing test on Izumo, the pilot landed with the centre of the aircraft aligned with this yellow marking line.
The second refurbishment of Izumo will begin in this fiscal year 2024. Just like the current Kaga, its bow is planned to be modified to a square shape during this second phase. The Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) expects the modifications of the Izumo to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2026.
The MoD plans to deploy the F-35Bs to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s (JASDF’s) Nyutabaru Air Base on Kyushu Island from fiscal year 2024. By deploying F-35Bs to Nyutabaru, Tokyo intends to enhance Japan’s ability to defend its remote southern islands, including those near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. These islands are controlled by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan.
The MoD plans to procure a total of 42 F-35Bs, along with 105 F-35As.