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| Hyuga class Helicopter Destroyer (File Photo) |
By PAUL KALLENDER-UMEZU
TOKYO — Although the Japanese military does not have a stated strategy for countering Chinese anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) threats, analysts say its decades-long buildup of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities means it is increasingly able to play such a role.
Formally, the mission of the Japan’s Navy remains protection of sea lines of communication and defense of the homeland in the event of direct invasion.
But the current mid-term defense plan and the creation of a more “dynamic defense” strategy to counter China has seen the focus shift from the north-western Pacific to supporting US Navy carrier strike groups in the seas surrounding Japan. Invasion forces at sea are now presumed to come from China, not Russia.
Japan’s 30-year history of bolstering the ASW mission, particularly the addition of increasingly large “helicopter carriers,” new Aegis destroyers and ISR capabilities, means the Navy in particular and the Self-Defense Forces in general are quietly building the ability to counter China’s A2/AD strategy, according to analysts.
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