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Japanese experts and officials predict that in 2027 the balance of power in East Asia could tip in favor of China.
Japan advances with the largest military expansion in decades to counter Chinese influence in the region
Japan will embark on its biggest military expansion since World War II in a race to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region, according to Japanese government officials and security analysts.
Takashi Kawakami, a professor at Takushoku University in Tokyo, quoted by the South China Morning Post, considers that in 2027 the balance of power in East Asia may tip in favor of China, as the Asian giant will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army at that time, and it will be the next major milestone on the road map of military modernization .
Along these lines, Admiral Philip Davidson, commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, pointed out that China’s alleged “threat” against Taiwan could “manifest ” this year. “There are different shades of opinion, but, in general, government officials share the same vision about the importance of 2027,” he said. a senior Japanese government official involved in defense development plans.
For Tokyo, a possible Chinese reunification could be a disaster because it would jeopardize key shipping lanes that supply almost all of its oil.
In July, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida won elections to the upper house by promising to “substantially” increase defense spending. His ruling Liberal Democratic Party promised to double the military budget to about 10 trillion yen (120.000 million dollars) in five years. With the additional resources, longer-range missiles that can attack distant warships and ground targets in China or North Korea can be acquired.
Kishida will release details of the military spending plans in December along with a revamped security strategy. The plan is expected to allow his country to play a greater role in regional security alongside the US, which has thousands of troops, hundreds of planes and dozens of warships deployed on Japanese soil.
Pretext for arming
For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Japan of using its country as a pretext to arm itself. “Japan’s political forces have repeatedly used China as an excuse to deliberately exaggerate regional tensions. By doing so, the Japanese side is only looking for excuses to strengthen its own military and expand it,” the institution said.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping, during the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, called for speeding up plans to build a world-class Army, and reiterated that his country would never give up the right to use the strength to resolve the Taiwan issue.
