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Japan seeks biggest-ever defense budget amid China concerns

The Associated Press

Japan’s Defense Ministry wants to buy an advanced Aegis radar-equipped destroyer and more F-35 fighters under its largest-ever budget to bolster the defense of southern islands amid a territorial dispute with China.

The ministry endorsed a U.S. $42 billion budget request in late August 2015 for the fiscal year beginning April 2016, up 2.2 percent from this year. It would be the fourth annual increase under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office in December 2012 and ended 10 years of defense budget cuts.

The total budget requests for fiscal 2016 exceeded U.S. $840 billion, also a record high, according to public broadcaster NHK. The defense budget was the third largest after those from the Health and Welfare Ministry and the Transportation Ministry, it said.

Abe’s government says Japan needs to bolster its military role amid China’s growing territorial assertiveness and the rising risk of terrorist attacks. Parliament is expected to approve a set of contentious bills to expand Japan’s military role by late September.

The budget increase results largely from proposed purchases of new equipment, including 17 surveillance helicopters, six F-35 fighter jets and three advanced Global Hawk drones. The construction of a Soryu-class submarine is also planned to bolster island defense and surveillance.

The budget request includes the cost of planned new troop deployments on two southern islands, Amami Oshima and Miyako.

The ministry also requested funds to enhance information gathering by posting intelligence officials in three new locations: Jordan, Mongolia and United Arab Emirates.

The requests, which were due before the beginning of September 2015, are based on new defense guidelines allowing Japan’s military a larger role amid tensions over China’s growing military might.

 

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