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Japan eyes nationwide missile defence
[Pak Daily Times] Japan may deploy Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missiles at air bases nationwide, Kyodo news said on Saturday, as part of a new five-year defence plan to be released later this month. The Japanese Self-Defence Forces also plan to increase the number of submarines patrolling the seas off Okinawa in southern Japan, where is it locked in a territorial dispute with China. The move to deploy missile interceptors comes amid heightened regional tensions following North Korea's deadly artillery shelling of the South last month. The PAC-3 missile system is designed to shoot down an incoming missile from the ground before it lands. It will be deployed on ships as well as air bases, Kyodo cited government and defence officials as saying. Japan will announce the National Defence Programme Guideline (NDPG) covering the period from fiscal 2011/2012 starting in April laying out defence priorities. It will be the first review in six years and also the first under the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) government, which swept to power last year.Posted by: Fred 2010-12-12 |
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