Seoul, Korea
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The Japanese warship is on its way to the US and is equipped with a Tomahawk cruise missile. This is the latest move by Washington and its Asian allies, where enemies such as China and North Korea will bolster their firepower to expand them.
JS Chokai, an AEGIS-equipped guided missile destroyer, is steaming to the US for a year of deployment, during which time the ship will undergo corrections and crew training so that the ship can launch Tomahawks, Maneuverable Cruise missiles ranging from around 1,000 miles.
It would target deep within the scope of Japanese warships, deep within China and North Korea.
In early 2024, Japan signed a contract with the US to acquire 400 Tomahawks since World War II as part of Tokyo’s plan to increase defense spending to combat what General Nakatani calls the “most serious and complex security environment.”
China’s military activities have presented “the greatest strategic challenges” to Japan, the Ministry of Defense’s annual white paper released in July.
While Beijing is “rapidly strengthening its military capabilities,” Nakatani said in introducing the white paper that he specifically mentions the Senkaku Islands, a chain in the East China Sea, which Tokyo controls, but claims that this is also being argued by Beijing.
China showed off some of its new capabilities, including powerful anti-ship missiles, during a military parade held in Beijing on September 3.
That day, viewers with Chinese leader Xi Jinping included Kim Jong Woon, who had been inspecting a new North Korean missile engine a few days later, and Russian Vladimir Putin, who recently signed a defense treaty with Kim.
When announcing the deployment of destroyers to the United States, the Ministry of Defense said that Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are “enhancing their stand-off defense capabilities to intercept and eliminate intruders against Japan at a rapid pace and at long distances.”
Tokyo cites the “defensive capabilities” of the Tomahawk, but missiles are considered offensive weapons.
In fact, the US Navy fact sheet for missiles states that they are “used in deep land attack battles,” with the full name of the weapon being “Tomahawk Land Attack Missile” or Tlam.
When Japan asked to buy the Tomahawks in 2023, China crossed the bridge on its journey and called for Tokyo for violating the “pacifist constitution” after World War II.
“The movements by the US and Japan will worsen the momentum of the arms race, affect regional peace and stability, seriously disrupt global strategic balance and stability, and undermine the international order.”
The Tomahawks are one of the most proven weapons in the US arsenal.
According to manufacturer Raytheon, cruise missiles “can accurately strike targets from 1,000 miles away, even in highly protected airspace.”
In addition to naval surface vessels, the Tomahawks can also be fired from submarines and land platforms.
According to Raytheon, they have been used in more than 2,000 battles, including in June, when the Tomahawks were used by submarines in a US attack on Iran’s nuclear facility.
In a statement, Japan’s Ministry of Defense said it plans to prepare for a “actual mission” by next summer.
The first step in that process occurred last week when Chokai practiced loading dummy Tomahawk ammunition into a vertical launch cell.
The 528-foot-long 9,500-ton Chokai has 90 vertical launch cells and can also be used to launch surface-to-air missiles, air defense missiles, air defense missiles and anti-submarine rockets.
The US Navy’s early bark class destroyers are similar in size and armament.
Besides the US Navy, the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy have demonstrated the Tomahawk’s launch capabilities.
Australia joined the group last December, successfully fired the Tomahawk by destroyer HMAS Brisbane off the west coast of the US.
Canberra is planning to buy 200 tomahawks. The Australian Department of Defense said it would allow naval vessels to “take long-range precision strikes against land targets.”
CNN’s Simone McCarthy contributed to this report.
