Japan’s plan to retrofit its 27,000-ton Izumo–class helicopter destroyers into aircraft carriers has Beijing worried. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the move could in effect change the warships’ use from self-defense to military expansion, rather than a simple boost to their combat capabilities.
The ministry also warned that if Tokyo was bent on military buildup, it could risk putting the recent thaw in relations between the two nations back on ice.
“Making an aggressive move like this may drive the country to repeat its militaristic history,” the nationalist Global Times also warned in its report. Ties between China and Japan had been restored after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Beijing in October.
The 248-meter Izumo–class helicopter destroyers are now the largest surface combatants of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force since World War II, bearing a strong resemblance to conventional aircraft carriers.
Its lead ship was launched at Yokohama in 2013 with stated key missions including anti-submarine warfare and border-area surveillance as well as the swift deployment of troops and materials for disaster relief.
Two of the vessels – the Izumo and Kaga – have already been in service with two under construction and two planned.
Destroyers of this class can carry a crew of 970 and a maximum of 28 helicopters with armaments including the Raytheon-made Phalanx close-in weapons system against anti-ship missiles and helicopters.
Japan will write the plan into its latest National Defense Program Guidelines at the end of the year, Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya announced at a press conference on Tuesday. The newly installed defense chief also said the retrofitted carriers would carry US-made F-35B stealth fighter jets capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings.
Japan will order 100 more F-35 fighter jets, including both the F-35A and the F-35B, from Lockheed Martin.
Under the war-renouncing Article 9 of its pacifist constitution, Japan cannot possess attack aircraft carriers, as it is only allowed to use force for self-defense.
Japanese military sources confirmed that the possibility of operating fixed-wing aircraft was incorporated into the design of the ships from the earliest stages of the Izumo program. The aircraft elevators and the deck paint were designed to handle aircraft like the F-35B, and it would be possible to add a ski-jump to the flight deck for the fighters’ operations.
Billy mania. Another philipino Are you going to leave your sisters to lie on their backs in Saudi and Qatar?
Billy mania. Another philipino Are you going to leave your sisters to lie on their backs in Saudi and Qatar?
And cowardly faceless man
And cowardly faceless man
Terry Kerr. Why don’t you have a go? New zeala der? Just carry bags for Americans.
Terry Kerr. Why don’t you have a go? New zeala der? Just carry bags for Americans.
I didn’t know philipinos were so stupid. Can’t make a living so philipinos send their sisters to clean toilets and lie on their backs for their masters.
I didn’t know philipinos were so stupid. Can’t make a living so philipinos send their sisters to clean toilets and lie on their backs for their masters.
Frank Yoe Is that how you answer to a sound argument by spouting racist remarks? Please educate yourself in being a better citizen of humanity.
Frank Yoe Is that how you answer to a sound argument by spouting racist remarks? Please educate yourself in being a better citizen of humanity.
That is what happened when a country is ruled by somebody else all the time, physically and mentally. They never talk about how good filllipine is, only Japan and the US. Like I said before, they make fun of some nations, call people names, startted racist comment and personal attacks, and they said they had fun doing that and at the end, they admitted they are pinos. What a disgrace. I mean seriously everyone , look at them!
That is what happened when a country is ruled by somebody else all the time, physically and mentally. They never talk about how good filllipine is, only Japan and the US. Like I said before, they make fun of some nations, call people names, startted racist comment and personal attacks, and they said they had fun doing that and at the end, they admitted they are pinos. What a disgrace. I mean seriously everyone , look at them!
Matthew Reynolds are you one of the convicts transported to Australia? Or are you the son of another crook Britain transported? A chip off the old thieving block.
Matthew Reynolds are you one of the convicts transported to Australia? Or are you the son of another crook Britain transported? A chip off the old thieving block.
Agnam Reyes Carl. Is that tagalog? It sounds like chickens clucking? Still can’t write English correctly? Who cares Japan can build nuclear. Japan stole it all while the Americans were fighting in Korea and then Vietnam. But you can’t build anything. Just mudhuts and more mudhuts and more mudhuts. God created philipinos to sweep the floor.
Agnam Reyes Carl. Is that tagalog? It sounds like chickens clucking? Still can’t write English correctly? Who cares Japan can build nuclear. Japan stole it all while the Americans were fighting in Korea and then Vietnam. But you can’t build anything. Just mudhuts and more mudhuts and more mudhuts. God created philipinos to sweep the floor.
MarioDanilo Del Mar Ballesteros. Have you? Mario Danilo Del Mar Ballesteros Have you anything intelligent to say? Why don’t you ask your fellow pino why he is repeating over and over the same thing? You philipinos are all the same. Big mouth and stupid and lazy. You prefer your mother and sisters going to Kuwait and Qatar and Saudi to lie on their backsides while you build mud huts and scavenge in rubbish tips for something to eat. You are laughing stock. What have you ever done? Now go back to school and ask your teacher how to work. Take your class mate ebn Libra with you. Clown.
MarioDanilo Del Mar Ballesteros. Have you? Mario Danilo Del Mar Ballesteros Have you anything intelligent to say? Why don’t you ask your fellow pino why he is repeating over and over the same thing? You philipinos are all the same. Big mouth and stupid and lazy. You prefer your mother and sisters going to Kuwait and Qatar and Saudi to lie on their backsides while you build mud huts and scavenge in rubbish tips for something to eat. You are laughing stock. What have you ever done? Now go back to school and ask your teacher how to work. Take your class mate ebn Libra with you. Clown.
Enb Libra. Hey philipino stop scavenging in the rubbish for a minute and ask Japan when they are going to close the American bases and send American troops home. Japan will do what the Americans tell them. Without America Japan will be as poor as philipinos. Enb Libra when are you going to stop your sisters being jailed and beheaded in Saudi?
Enb Libra. Hey philipino stop scavenging in the rubbish for a minute and ask Japan when they are going to close the American bases and send American troops home. Japan will do what the Americans tell them. Without America Japan will be as poor as philipinos. Enb Libra when are you going to stop your sisters being jailed and beheaded in Saudi?
Terry Kerr. And Terry boy will there be a new Zealand after that? Will your cousin send a gun boat to rescue you? Now boy go and dance the Moari dance. It looks like that’s all new zeala der can do now boy.
Terry Kerr. And Terry boy will there be a new Zealand after that? Will your cousin send a gun boat to rescue you? Now boy go and dance the Moari dance. It looks like that’s all new zeala der can do now boy.
The yashad rizvi is still scribbling. Still faceless and still a fake. Must be ugly and a wanker.
The yashad rizvi is still scribbling. Still faceless and still a fake. Must be ugly and a wanker.
Mathews Reynolds, NO ONE CAN TRUSTS YOUR MOTHER EITHER! hehehe
Mathews Reynolds, NO ONE CAN TRUSTS YOUR MOTHER EITHER! hehehe
Justin Gimena. My answer is the same. You are stupid. You credited Japan wirh the non aggression but it was a constitution imposed on the Japanese who are now rewriting their history and white washing their history.
Justin Gimena. My answer is the same. You are stupid. You credited Japan wirh the non aggression but it was a constitution imposed on the Japanese who are now rewriting their history and white washing their history.
Enb Libra Philipinos just have big mouths.
Enb Libra Philipinos just have big mouths.