Japan is rumored to be thinking about using long-range cruise missiles to defend itself against Chinese threats, according to sources.
According to Japanese media reports, the missiles would be stationed on the Nansei islands, which are located close to China and North Korea. Some reports suggest Japan may be using at least 1,000 cruise missiles with a range of 100 km shortly. It is possible to launch missiles from ships as well as aircraft.
After US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, China conducted extensive military exercises near the island nation shortly after Pelosi’s visit. According to the Defense Minister of Japan, at least five Chinese ballistic missiles had landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at the same time that Tokyo submitted a protest against China.
The missile tests are considered to be a “significant matter that undermines the national security of Japan and the safety of its citizens,” according to Nobuo Kishi, Japan’s minister of defense. According to him, Japan’s territorial seas are not the limit of its exclusive economic zone. Kishi further explained that Chinese missiles had never entered its Exclusive Economic Zone before and that this was a first for him.
Last month while military exercises were taking place in Taiwan, a few Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s air defense zone resulting in a few warplanes fleeing into the air defense zone. As a result of the display of power made by China during the exercise, Taiwan has complained to the Chinese government.
According to reports in the Japanese media, the Japanese military is expected to request $40.2 billion for the upcoming fiscal year in order to counter the growing Chinese threat in the region, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has committed to increasing defense spending within the next few years by a substantial amount.
