Japan Re-Shapes Its National Security Strategy

[unhappycamper]

http://breakingdefense.com/2014/01/japan-re-shapes-its-national-security-strategy/



China’s new “Air Defense Identification Zone,” which covers the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands — called the Diaoyus by China — as well as South Korean-controlled Ieodo.

Japan Re-Shapes Its National Security Strategy
By Robbin Laird
on January 09, 2014 at 4:45 AM

Japanese national security strategy is shifting. The Pacific power’s new National Security Strategy highlights a comprehensive look ahead built around what they call a “comprehensive defense architecture.”

This architecture is built on effective joint forces, a close working relationship with key allies such as the United States, Australia and Japan, and a proactive approach in which “Japan will maintain an improve a comprehensive architecture for responding seamlessly to an array of situations, ranging from armed attacks to large-scale natural disasters.”

Clearly this is not just a briefing board document. Recent events have demonstrated Japan’s engagement in the Philippine relief mission, including closely working with US forces in coming quickly to the aid of the Philippines and then moving out when no longer needed, and scrambling their Air Force in response to the Chinese unilateral declaration of an air defense identification zone.

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U.S. weapon systems are a key part of the Japanese approach. Clearly, at the top of the list is building out from the Aegis global partnership and including Ospreys and F-35s as centerpieces. Japanese F-35s would be part of the Pacific fleet of US and allied F-35s and Japan is where the first F-35s are coming in 2015. By 2020 there could be as many as five squadrons of F-35s from the US and Japanese. This will clearly be the center of excellence for the fledgling F-35 enterprise. On top of this, the Japanese will build their F-35s in rebuilt Mitsubishi facilities, thus becoming the third final assembly line for F-35s, with Fort Worth, and Cameri, Italy, the other two.