Japan's cabinet has approved the country's largest defence budget, with plans to buy surveillance aircraft and F-35 fighter jets to improve defences of disputed islands amid China's increasing assertiveness in the region. <\/p>\n
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet endorsed on Wednesday a nearly $42b defence budget for the year beginning in April, a two percent rise. The budget must still be approved by parliament, but Abe's coalition holds majorities in both houses. <\/p>\n
The military outlays were included in a record $814b total budget for the coming fiscal year. <\/p>\n
Japan's military budget is rising for a third year in a row under Abe, who took office in December 2012 and ended 11 straight years of defence budget cuts. <\/p>\n
The increase mainly covers new equipment, including P-1 surveillance aircraft, F-35 fighter jets and amphibious vehicles for a new unit to boost island defences. <\/p>\n
The 2015 budget also covers cost of purchasing parts of \"Global Hawk\" drones, planned for deployment in 2019, and two Aegis radar-equipped destroyers, as well as missile defence system development with Washington. <\/p>\n
Chinese patrol boats often visit waters near uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China. <\/p>\n
Abe favours a stronger role for Japan's military, despite a commitment to pacifism enshrined in the US-inspired constitution drawn up after the country's defeat in World War Two. <\/p>\n
Japan's defence guidelines were revised in December 2013 as tensions rose over the disputed islands in the East China Sea. <\/p>\n
In July, the Abe government adopted a new interpretation of Japan's war-renouncing constitution to allow its military to defend American and other foreign troops under attack. <\/p>\n
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Japan approves record defence budget<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Japan's cabinet has approved the country's largest defence budget, with plans to buy surveillance aircraft and F-35 fighter jets to improve defences of disputed islands amid China's increasing assertiveness in the region. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet endorsed on Wednesday a nearly $42b defence budget for the year beginning in April, a two percent rise. The budget must still be approved by parliament, but Abe's coalition holds majorities in both houses. Continue reading