Japan's Kishida government will amend the law to loosen the self-defense forces' overseas dispatch. At the same time, Japan and the United States have made new moves on Taiwan-related issues.
On January 18, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi announced at a news conference that he would introduce amendments to the Self-Defense Forces Act to the Diet in early February seeking to further relax regulations on the japanese Self-Defense Forces' overseas evacuation missions.
According to the Asahi Shimbun, the current Self-Defense Forces Act stipulates that if an emergency such as war breaks out in an area outside Japan, the Self-Defense Forces must carry Japanese citizens when they send planes to repatriate them from evacuation missions. The amendment changes the provision to read that even if only foreign citizens make evacuation requests, SDF aircraft can bring them to Japan. In addition, the current law stipulates that the safety of the evacuation site must be confirmed to be able to perform the task, and the relevant provisions may be deleted after modification.
According to the Nikkei Asia website reported on the 16th, Japan and the United States are discussing storing ammunition in each other's military facilities to cope with "emergency situations" . Japanese media said that the "emergency situation" also includes "incidents in the Taiwan Strait."
The first Japan-U.S. Foreign Ministers' Defense Ministers' 2+2 talks since the Kishida administration came to power were held on January 7, and a joint statement issued after the meeting explicitly mentioned that Japan and the United States would increase the joint use of Self-Defense Force facilities, including the Southwest Islands. Sources revealed that the specific content of the so-called "joint use" includes the storage of ammunition.
The Taiwan military held a ceremony in Kaohsiung on the 14th, announcing the establishment of two mine-laying boat squadrons, which is the first time that the Taiwan Navy has established a mine-laying squadron. Previously, the Taiwan military's mine laying operations on the sea were carried out by naval officers and men in landing craft. From 2020 to 2021, the Taiwan Navy has successively installed four rapid mine-laying boats, equipped with automatic mine-laying systems. Taiwan's military said the mine-laying boats would become part of the so-called asymmetric combat power.
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According to pro-green media reports on the island, the Taiwan Navy's anti-ship missile force will be greatly expanded. It has been learned that at present, the commander of the anti-ship missile unit of the Taiwan Navy is a colonel, and after the expansion, its commander will be promoted to lieutenant general, and the number of mobile launch squadrons will be greatly increased, spreading throughout Taiwan.
In recent years, anti-ship missiles have been regarded by the Taiwan military as one of the core equipment of asymmetric combat power. Of the NT$240 billion special budget for sea and air combat capabilities approved by Taiwan's legislature on January 11, one-third of the funds were invested in the procurement of anti-ship missiles. Experts on the island warned that the Taiwan authorities' massive purchase of anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles in an attempt to create a so-called "hedgehog strategy" will cost the people on the island a heavy price.
New Media, Chinese Global Program Center, China Central Radio and Television Corporation
Transferred from: CCTV4 "Asia Today"
Source: CCTV4