Japan’s F-35 Acquisition and the Arms Race in the Western Pacific: Strategic Game Changer or Epic Boondoggle?
NOVANEWS
By Prof. Wilson Wong
Asia-Pacific Research
Introduction
In the face of a resurgent China, many perceive Japan as a spent force. Its military is stretched, relying heavily on increasingly obsolete American equipment in the face of assertive neighbours1. The Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) is one of the busiest air forces in the world, its fighters scrambling virtually daily to intercept multiple aircraft (mostly Russian and Chinese combat aircraft) penetrating Japan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)2; Japan’s ADIZ extends to the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea3. This trajectory is most apparent in the realm of strategic affairs where China is assiduously building up its military might with significant advances in high-tech weapon systems such as the Ch...