Japan fired surface-to-ship missiles and sank an old warship in waters between the Philippines and Taiwan as part of major military exercises that include US forces, angering China.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has accelerated Japan’s shift towards a more muscular defense policy, further casting off — with US encouragement — Tokyo’s pacifist stance in place since the end of World War II.
The firing on Wednesday of two Type-88 missiles formed part of exercises in the Philippines between US, Australian, Filipino and Japanese troops as well as contingents from France, New Zealand and Canada.
Japanese and Philippine defense ministers observed the launch in the northern province of Ilocos Norte, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Taiwan, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
The two projectiles hit the target, a retired Philippines navy corvette, around 75 kilometers offshore in the South China Sea, causing it to sink, officials said.
The 19-day Balikatan exercises, meaning “shoulder-to-shoulder” and which wrap up Friday, have involved some 17,000 military personnel including Japanese combat troops for the first time.
Japan in recent years has moved to obtain “counterstrike” capabilities while hiking military spending and deepening security cooperation with regional allies including the Philippines.
Last month Takaichi’s government relaxed the country’s self-imposed rules to allow exports of lethal military hardware, seeking to grab a larger slice of the booming global market.
Last year Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries won a landmark order from the Australian navy — Takaichi was in Canberra this week — to supply 11 warships.
Long-frosty China-Japan ties have worsened after Takaichi, seen as an arch-conservative and security hawk, suggested in November that Japan might intervene militarily in any Chinese attempt to take Taiwan.
Source: Insider Paper
