Aggressive changes made in Japan's defence policy in the face of rising

– Naval exercises of 12 countries in Japan’s maritime zone
– Japan to produce hypersonic missiles
Tokyo: A large war exercise of 12 countries started in Japan’s Yokosuka port on Sunday. A separate Malabar war exercise of the QUAD countries will also be organised in the next few hours. Also, Japan has started preparations to fully equip itself in the defence sector in the next five years. For this, Japan will work on producing hypersonic missiles and attack drones. While the potential threat from China grows, so does Japan’s distrust of the US as a guarantor of Japan’s protection. This was reflected in Japan’s new defence policy.

Xi Jinping has become China’s President for the third consecutive term, and his grip on the Communist Party has strengthened further. After taking over the reins of China, President Xi Jinping ordered the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to be ready for war. Furthermore, North Korea has increased regional tensions in the past week by conducting ballistic missile tests. One of these intercontinental ballistic missiles crashed near Japan’s waters. In such a period, a huge exercise between Japan and allied countries started in the sea area of Japan’s Yokosuka port.

It includes 38 warships from major countries like Japan, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. In addition, 33 fighter jets, submarine-detecting patrol aircraft, and helicopters also participated in the exercise. It was claimed that the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was also included in this. Two Indian destroyers, ‘INS Shivalik’ and ‘INS Kamorta’, have participated in this exercise.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida inspected the exercise. Also, PM Kishida urged that we should be ready to take action against countries that violate international maritime rules and abuse their power to crush the peace and security of other countries. After completing this two-day exercise, the Malabar war exercise of the ‘QUAD’ countries of the US, India, Japan and Australia will start in Japan on Tuesday. Japan has said that the exercise was organised for stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Along with this exercise, Japan has clarified its defence policy for the next five years. Japan will also try to produce hypersonic missiles like the US, Russia, China and India. Moreover, Japan’s government and defence forces have been considering making hypersonic interceptors for surface-to-surface missiles in Japan’s defence forces. It was claimed that Japan would complete the production of the said missile by 2029. At the same time, Japan has also been trying to produce suicide drones. Japanese media say that Japan has started these moves against the backdrop of China’s growing aggression. Simultaneously, analysts have claimed that Japan had to take these steps as the trust in the US, which was a guarantor of Japan’s security until now, has been shaken.