Japan expanding missile arsenal to boost retaliatory capability against China: Report


Japan uneasiness with increasingly aggressive China and North Korea is prompting a defence review. Photo: AAP Photo: AAP
Japan is said to be mulling a major beefing up of its retaliatory capacity by extending the range of cruise missiles to facilitate strikes deep into China.
The upgrade would involve modifications to 1000 existing missiles aimed at extending their range from 100km to 1000km boost, the Yomiuri newspaper reports, citing government sources.
The arms, capable of being launched by ships or aircraft, would be stationed mainly around the southern Nansei islands and capable of reaching the coastal areas of North Korea and China, Yomiuri said.
Representatives from Japan’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Japan, which interprets its conflict-renouncing post-war Constitution to mean it may use its military only for self-defence, has stepped up military spending and taken a more assertive strategy in recent years.
But it has refrained from deploying long-range missilesthat can strike targets on foreign soil.
Regional tensions have ramped up this month after a visit by Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, to Taiwan, which is self-ruled but claimed by China.
Beijing launched missiles near Taiwan and into Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
-with AAP