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© KYODOJapan, U.S. to enhance strike capabilities against regional threats
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TaiwanIsNotChina
The North Atlantic is one of the safes regions of the world. Just because your autocrat heroes hate NATO doesn't mean any free country feels the same way.
Peter14
No, it taught us how dangerous Russia really is. NATO is not fighting anyone.
No surprises there.
Modi is not worried about NATO but is very worried about China.
No, definitely many more are worried about the autocrats and their lack of justice and freedoms. The West is the best option available for peace and prosperity, thats why people move away from Russia and China and not to them, immigration numbers do not lie.
Peter14
Japan and the US are doing the only thing they can reasonably do.
Russia at war in Europe,
China gearing up for war in the region,
NK launching more missiles than having hot meals and a lose canon in the story.
Doing nothing in the face of these circumstances would be negligent and criminal. So they do what is needed.
Autocrat fans will continue to bag Japan, the US, South Korea and others when they make moves that do not support the rise of Autocrats. No surprises there. Live in a country and bag it for not doing as told by an autocratic nation they are to afraid to live in themselves.
Well done US and Japan.
Desert Tortoise
The goal is to keep it that way.
China is hardly a "non existent threat". The Philippines losing islands to the Chinese is an example of what happens when China wants something and that something is owned by a weak nation. China claims Japanese territory belongs to them. They also openly call Okinawa "Japanese occupied". If Japan is not perceived by China to be strong enough to defend itself the Chinese will take what they want.
TaiwanIsNotChina
I hope the Ukraine war has taught us how valuable standoff weapons are. They need to be stored in the tens if not hundreds of thousands, particularly as this has been the style of warfare of the autocracy brigade and they have many decades of a head start.
Desert Tortoise
Do you know what the price of a Tomahawk, JASSM or SCALP is?
Without giving anything away, no nation can afford tens of thousands of weapons like Tomahawk, SCALP, JSM (Norwegian Joint Strike Missile), JASSM, or even Harpoon. Aside from their high purchase price hey all have turbojets engines and liquid fuel that drives expensive regular maintenance. The cost is not trivial. A proportion of your cruise missile inventory is always out of service for repairs.
The end result is you analyze the target sets of your likely adversaries and buy enough of these expensive weapons to hit the targets that you can't destroy with something less costly, or you buy what your budget allows.
Desert Tortoise
The Japanese attacked Oregon during WWII trying to set the forests on fire.
Legrande
Without giving anything away, no nation can afford tens of thousands of weapons like Tomahawk, SCALP, JSM (Norwegian Joint Strike Missile), JASSM, or even Harpoon.
Spot on and highlights how off-base and unrealistic some posters are.
Peter14
No it has not. Not even close.
And I am much more concerned with Russia's agenda, China's agenda and the erosion of rights where ever they have power. NATO is about defense, Russia is about power and control.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Then we need cheaper alternatives so that the autocrat can never think he can just wait you out. It's also useful for third party conflicts like Ukraine where they might not need the longest range weapons.
kaimycahl
@Sanjinosebleed If you think the US is done, it goes on to show you who your master is, start saying your prayers
Yeh follow the US into WW3 because they want to protect their protection racket of the USD reserve currency status…
the US is done give it up!
Happy Day
It's called the Military Industrial Complex in the U.S. So many wars to fight, so pay your fair share so the MIC can get rich.
Desert Tortoise
Try telling that to the Tibetans, the Philippines or Vietnam. The assertions of territorial sovereignty behind the Nine Dash Line and the man made island bases are highly expansionist.
Until the 17th century or thereabouts there wasn't even word for diplomatic recognition of another nation in Mandarin. Every nation that was near China was dominated by them, forced to pay tribute to the emperor of the time and also forced to conduct their trade only with China or the other "tributary" (vassal) states China controlled. They were the Middle Kingdom to whom all other nations in the region paid tribute (taxes) and obeyed.
Yes. China is trying desperately to re-establish itself as the new Middle Kingdom forcing its neighbors to bow to Beijing, do their bidding under threat of overwhelming military reprisal, and operate under Chinese rules where they claim a right to all of their neighbor's resources (example, the Nine Dash Line).
TaiwanIsNotChina
No, they can also be a capability to reduce your opponent to ashes if they try something. Nukes aren't always considered preemptive strike capabilities, for example.
As is true of the rogue state Russia, as we can see with the cluster munitions, mining, the white phosphorus, and thermobaric weapons. Just because they have been successfully warned off of using their uglier stuff doesn't make the country less ugly.
So you admit Russia's capability is large and then say to ignore it. Well forgive countries that don't want to just live in fear from the rogue state, particularly ones that have been formerly occupied by Russia.
Yeah, there are democracies and non-democracies. What we are seeing here is the former defending against the latter.
kurisupisu
@Desert Tortoise
…
Sure, the Chinese have plenty of bluster when it comes down to it but China is not an expansionist power in the same way the US is and has been.
In all of its very long history where has China sought to dominate far off countries in the same way the US and European powers have?
Count the number of US military bases around the world and contrast that with the number of Chinese bases around the world-no comparison.
It could be argued that NATO expansion has been a factor in the Russian attacks on the Ukraine too.
Aren’t the recent actions of China based on fear of attack rather than an urge to seek global dominance?
Many shades of grey…
Desert Tortoise
I have been around some of these weapons off and on since the 1980s. Solid fuel rockets almost never need maintenance but anything with liquid fuel needs a lot of tender loving care. That is one of the reasons the US Navy ditched Talos in favor of Standard. You see the Russians launching their old Kh-55 cruise missiles from bombers out over the Caspian Sea because so many of them have jet engines that never light off (they have been in storage for decades and not maintained). They do it over the water so the rounds that fail do not fall in on friendly towns or farms and the highly toxic fuel doesn't contaminate Russian land.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Sorry, but you are not going to use the common defense of NATO countries established decades ago as "planting their nukes all over the world". There has been nothing from NATO since then like the moving of nukes to Belarus nor the ridiculous threat to proliferate even further.
TaiwanIsNotChina
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_sharing
The nuclear sharing agreement has about 100 weapons in it. In fact it might go down if they are removed from Turkey. And no, you aren't going to be allowed to claim that nuclear subs docking are proliferation.
NATO never said "if anyone else would like to join us, there are nukes available".
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/28/europe/lukashenko-nuclear-weapons-belarus-russia-intl-hnk/index.html
TaiwanIsNotChina
That's an important distinction because for Putin to launch an illegal war for territory, he just presses a button. For a US president, he has to go to the American people and say he his sending soldiers to their deaths for a land grab.
Well you do a good job of defending Russia's war criming. You're a good commentator, keep it up.
Stephen Chin
Why? Why so nervous, Japan?
China is a defensive nation. Never offensive. Just look at The Great Wall of China!
deanzaZZR
So Japan wants more long-range missiles to target North Korea, China and possibly even Russia, all three nuclear weapons states. The only logical next step is the acquisition of nuclear weapons. Well done, LDP. You did it.
Clay
Hypocrisy, US & NATO Nukes Anywhere = Deterrence
Other Countries Seeking Such Deterrence = Proliferation
TokyoLiving
Thank you NATO circUS for bring the third world War nearer to the world..
xin xin
Just do one thing -- keep China capped. then NK will fall into line, Russia will wimp off. China is the heart of darkness. Japan is waking up, so are the Philippines and India, and more recently Canada and New Zealand. In the US and Germany, Big Business are still the suckers and they ought to be punished.
Clay
Democracy, remember? US not contemplating war, simply acknowledging that WMD proliferation is full-stop uncontained and being openly promoted in order to enhance deterrence against US & NATO.
If one takes President of Belarus at his word, as quoted by Reuters above. Secretary of Defense Austin surely does.
ian
's transgressions lies squarely on the leader whereas in the so called democracies the responsibility is shared by the people.
Because to invade other countries and murder their people the socalled democracies need the support and approval of it's citizens
Hideomi Kuze
Countries where stimulating far-east Asia tension are not only "authoritarian states".
Warmongers who using those countries as excuse of arms race are rampant in especially present Japan, benefiting arms industries with victimizing social life or future of general citizen.
Fredrik
And who put these sanctions in place? Sure, a satellite is a big threat!
U.S. puts nothing at risk. They have never been occupied. Their mainland have never been attacked (Pearl Harbor is not U.S. mainland, it is an island stolen from the natives). U.S. has never been forced to stop using nuclear weapons.. On the contrary, they keep planting their nukes all over the world.
Clay
Apparently, merits of US style Democracy (just ask Turkey's Pres. Erdogan) not an easy 'Sell' these days.
So, Forget Fantasy Democratic "Hope", WMD based Fear FAR better strategy = more pawns with cash needed!
ian
Know the difference between the evils of countries'such as Russia and other autocratic countries and the US and socalled democracies?
Like oftrepeated here, russia
happyhere
Alfie nails it. As Kissinger said, to be a friend of America is fatal.
ian
The west, especially the US is a threat to the whole world.
I'm sure you can deny to yourself what the US has done to Iraq for example, but do you intendd to just do that to others also?
nosuke
Japan and US contemplating war
kurisupisu
When has Japan been the target of any hostile attack since the last world war?
It hasn’t so why all the expenditure on non existent threats?
Alfie Noakes
Mister Raytheon's in town, come to collect his protection money for a threat that doesn't exist. And Japan will pay, not because they're frightened of China but because they're frightened of the US; they know full well what the Americans are capable of.
Clay
Ukraine has taught us HOW dangerous NATO really is, that's the view of President Xi, Prime Minister Modi and many others, especially Muslim World and Global South.
Countries like Japan want SAFE Deterrence, Not NATO Membership based Deterrence that includes aggressive expansionary agenda that's now destabilizing entire world = most dangerous time in history per most experts.
Clay
Austin's deterrence agenda logical, exactly why Russia's now basing nukes in Belarus (see below), offering to do same in other countries that deem NATO a threat.
Entire world's now openly promoting WMD proliferation & escalation, just wonderful, isn't it?! So much for shared global interests and values to address real problems, instead we get MORE problems and Greater RISK!
Ping An
Mr. Austin - No need to visit Japan so often, your boss has just met with Mr Kishida on last week.
Clay
Exactly! Just fishing for NATO Membership & BOJ YEN for US NATO Ukraine Proxy War.
Japan's economy depends upon China market access, many times greater than US and EU; Access will be gone with NATO based deterrence.
How safe are average EU citizens feeling these days? Not safe, most oppose continued Ukraine Military support. Trends Clear, EU citizens fully understand their NATO Deterrence does not need or depend on Ukraine.
Sanjinosebleed
Yeh follow the US into WW3 because they want to protect their protection racket of the USD reserve currency status…
the US is done give it up!