Japan’s annual white paper on defense released this week concludes there is an “increasingly severe” security environment in the Asia-Pacific and proposes reorganizing ground forces and adding capabilities to the land-, air- and sea-components of the country’s Self Defense Forces.
The paper’s findings reflect growing concerns in Tokyo about China’s military buildup as well as a territorial dispute with Beijing over islands in the East China Sea, and worries about continuous North Korean sabre rattling.
Under the new National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG) for fiscal year 2014, about half of the Ground Self Defense Forces (SDF) divisions and brigades will be reorganized into rapid deployment divisions and brigades. These new organizations will be equipped with advanced mobility and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to support their rapid deployment capabilities, according to the white paper.
The GSDF also will maintain rapidly deployable units for specialized functions to effectively perform amphibious operations, the document said.
Photo: Japan GSDF
The paper said rapid deployment units would be used, for example, in defense of Japan’s offshore islands, to rapidly intercept and defeat invasion. The brigade would have mobile combat vehicles that can be transported by the C-2 aircraft. Transport vessels will be improved, and tilt-rotor aircraft will be introduced.
The Maritime SDF will see new destroyers with additional multifunctional capability and a “compact-type” hull. Two more Aegis-equipped destroyers will be added, for a total of eight destroyers.
BMD capability is being enhanced, including installing BMD capability on two Atago-class destroyers.
The Patriot system will be improved and equipped with the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles to counter cruise missiles and BMD. All six air defense missile groups will be equipped with PAC-3.
The number of submarines also will be increased under the new NDPG guidelines.
The Air SDF will maintain its fixed wing P-1/P-3C patrol aircraft by continuing to acquire the P-1 aircraft.
The ASDF will gradually change warning groups to warning squadrons by consolidating warning and control operations at air defense command centers. The air warning unit will gain one new squadron. The 13th squadron will be newly established, and one squadron of the Air Reconnaissance Unit will be abolished.
Two squadrons will be added to the fighter aircraft units at Naha Air Base, the white paper said. One squadron will be added to the aerial refueling and transport units, increasing the number of squadrons to two.
To counter the BMD threat, the ASDF Kyogamisaki sub-base was designated as the deployment site for the second TPY-2 radar in Japan and the necessary facilities and areas were furnished to the United States in December 2013.
To counter cyber attacks, the Cyber Defense Group was created in March under the SDF C4 Systems Command. These attacks are growing increasingly sophisticated and complicated, the paper said, and the system to counter those attacks was improved and strengthened.
As well, Japan established bilateral and multilateral frameworks of cooperation on cyber efforts with the United States and other countries.
The government gave the Ministry of Defense more latitude to aid and transport Japanese nationals overseas in the event of disaster, insurgency or other overseas emergencies. Transport protection vehicles “with superior performance against IEDs will be introduced for ground transport,” the paper said.
Increasing procurement efficiency, a program manager/integrated product team system is being developed for major projects. This is to ensure the program s can be managed in terms of cost, schedule and performance throughout an equipment lifecycle.
With its major ally the United States, Japan expects to expand its exercises and joint training, joint ISR activities and the joint/shared use of facilities and areas with the United States to facilitate such activities.
Japan’s basic defense policy is based on its own efforts, strengthening the Japan-U.S. Alliance, and the active promotion of security cooperation.
Japan’s SDF ultimately is responsible for providing an effective deterrence and response to a variety of security situations, support Asia-Pacific stability and to improve the global security environment.
For more information on the Defense White Paper 2014: www.mod.go.jp/e/publ/w_paper/2014.html