Seventy Two years after sinking of Shinano – the last Aircraft Carrier inducted by Imperial Japanese Navy, the country is ready to revisit its past maritime might with induction of a new carrier into Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
As part of the program, JMSDF will refit Izumo-class warships to carry US-designed F-35B fighter jets, the government announced Tuesday.
In a neighborhood of failing US guarantees, and regular PLA-Navy harassements; the plans for the platform to launch stealth aircraft are indicative of an assertive Japan, getting ready to take control of her own destiny.
The Japan, a pioneer in the naval Aviation, withdrew from all weapons of offence post defeat in World War Two. The Japanese constitution adopted in 1947 declared in its article 9 that “The Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes.” However as the regional rivalries see a surge, Tokyo has consistently moved away from the Pacifist guidelines set out in its post-war constitution.
The Abe government recently said that while Japan recognizes the US’s might at sea”, (but) “there are national rivalries are surfacing and we recognise the importance of the strategic competition with both China and Russia as they challenge the regional order”
Japan has also earmarked over 242 Billion dollars for aircraft to be inducted for Naval Aviation.
The arms race triggered by rapid modernisation of Chinese forces and Beijing’s aggressive territorial claims has now engulfed the entire region and its only a matter of time before the race reaches to Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
