Japan needs to create Marine Corps as U.S. to respond against threats of China North Korea 2607132
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Japan to create new Marine Corps |
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| Friday, July 26, 2013, 10:27 AM | |||
| Japan needs to create Marine Corps as U.S. to respond against threats of China and North Korea. | |||
The Japanese government has said it needs to create a US Marines-style
force and a fleet of drone aircraft as it faces territorial threats from
China and North Korea. In a draft defence document published on Friday,
July 26, 2013, the pacifist nation's defence ministry said it was necessary
to boost the strength and range of forces that could be used to protect
Japan's outlying territories. |
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 The 69th Infantry Regiment's scout platoon of U.S. Army , along with members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, stand stacked and ready to move as a squad during scout training at Camp Imazu and Aibano Training Area, Shiga-prefecture, Japan |
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"To deploy units quickly in response to a situation, it is important... to have an amphibious function that is similar to US Marines," it said. The paper has been published as tensions continue to rise with China over the ownership of the Tokyo-administered Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, which Beijing claims as the Diaoyu islands. The
interim report, which was approved by a high-level defence meeting on
Friday, also advocates the introduction of a drone reconnaissance fleet
that could be used to monitor distant islands. "We are not talking about pre-emptive attack. That's not good," a defence official said. "We have this awareness that given changes in the security environment surrounding Japan, we have to discuss whether it is enough for us to depend on US forces in terms of capability to attack enemy territory," he told reporters. Japan and the US have a security treaty stemming from the Second World War that binds Washington to coming to Tokyo's defence if it is attacked. Experts say North Korea, through the UN-banned tests of ballistic missile technologies and nuclear weapons, has improved its offensive capabilities. |
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