Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

JS Hakuryu ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ United States Navy) As Clint Richards noted earlier, it now appears likely that #Japan will sell advanced Soryu-class submarines to  ‪#‎ Australia‬ . In addition to strengthening the relationship between #Australia and #Japan, and making Australia’s submarine force considerably more lethal, this represents a major move by Japan into the global submarine market. ‪#‎ Germany‬ ,  ‪#‎ France‬ , and  ‪#‎ Russia‬  have long dominated the existing market for diesel-electric submarines. The German Type 209 submarine serves in over a dozen navies, with more than 60 boats currently in service. While the design stems from the 1960s, the newest boats entered service in the last decade. Germany’s successor, the Type 214, is scheduled for export to Greece and South Korea, but has suffered some setbacks. France has exported the  ‪#‎ Scorpene‬ -class to  ‪#‎ Malaysia‬ ,  ‪#‎ Brazil‬ , and  ‪#‎ India‬ , and #Russia continues to export its Kilo-

JS Izumo ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ Dragoner JP) During his visit to San Diego, Itsunori Onodera, Japan's defense minister, inspected US amphibious assault ships, indicating Japan may be mulling introducing the ships to defend the disputed Diaoyutai (Senkaku or Diaoyu) islands against a potential attack from the People's Liberation Army, according to the Tokyo-based Kyodo News. The website of China's nationalistic Global Times, on the other hand, stated that Japan is buying military equipment under the guise of concerns over the disputed East China Sea islands, while in reality they are using this as an excuse to equip the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force at a time when Japan's government has reinterpreted its pacifist postwar constitution to loosen the country's restrictions on the use of its armed forces. Onodera was reportedly very interested in amphibious assault ships, saying that they are useful in disaster rescue missions. The Wasp-class a

JDS Izumo (DDH-183),  Image Courtesy- Wikimedia commons/ Author- Dragoner J.P The naval strength of America’s allies in the Pacific is growing, with Japan and Australia building a fleet of massive ships designed to launch aircraft at sea. Japan already has two Hyuga Class destroyers — each able to carry up to 10 helicopters — and it will soon launch its first Izumo Class escort ship. The vessels have large landing decks that allow multiple aircraft to operate at the same time, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense. The 13,950-ton Hyugas are primarily designed for anti-submarine warfare missions, according to Jan Van Tol, a retired U.S. Navy captain who is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, D.C. “The Izumos, on the other hand, have accommodations for some 400 troops, and will apparently be able to accommodate (tilt-rotor) MV-22 Ospreys and perhaps F-35B [verticle take-off and landing] aircraft,” he said. The Japanes

Image courtesy- Wikimedia commons and United States Army In a move that threatens to reverse the recent  signs of a burgeoning thaw  in China-Japan relations,  Japan will break ground Saturday  on a new military lookout station on Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost inhabited island. Yonaguni, which has a population of around 1,500, is located 108 kilometers east of Taiwan and 150 kilometers south of the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. According to  Reuters,  with the new outpost, Yonaguni’s military presence will expand from two police officers to 100 soldiers and a radar outpost. A report in the  Ryukyu Shimpo  said that the base will be built on 25 hectares of land leased from Yonaguni to the Ministry of Defense. In return, the local government will receive around 15 million yen ($150,000) in rent each year. Construction will begin with the groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, and is expected to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2015. Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Ono