The United States and Japan agree to two record military budgets for 2024 » Today Latest Stories

Two of the world’s biggest military spenders, the United States and Japan, simultaneously greenlighted their 2024 defense budgets at record levels on Friday.

US President Joe Biden on Friday signed the US defense policy bill that authorized a record annual military spending of $886 billion. The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which is about 3,100 pages long, calls for increasing service member salaries by 5.2 percent and increasing the country’s total national security budget by about 3 percent.

On the other hand, Japan, which has historically been constrained by its pacifist constitution that it adopted after its surrender in World War II, is now embarking on a record military expansion on the same day. The country’s Cabinet on Friday approved a significant 16 percent increase in military spending for 2024 and eased a post-war ban on the export of lethal weapons, underscoring the shift away from the principle of self-defense only in the country.

The defense budget of 7.95 trillion yen (about $56 billion) for fiscal year 2024 is part of a national budget of 112.7 trillion yen (about $794 billion) and still needs to be approved by Japan’s national parliament.

US military industrial complex

The United States approved a record Defense Department budget to fund a wide range of initiatives, including nuclear weapons modernization, development of hypersonic missiles, and expansion of operations in the Indo-Pacific region.

The United States’ defense budget equals the combined defense budgets of more than 20 countries below it, highlighting the extent of the country’s military-industrial complex.

The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act also includes a four-month extension of the disputed domestic surveillance authority, giving lawmakers more time to either enact reform or preserve the program, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

This provision faced objections in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, but not enough to block the bill.

The bill expands one measure to aid Ukraine, the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, through the end of 2026, authorizing $300 million for the program in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and the following year.

However, that number is small compared to the $61 billion that Biden has asked Congress to approve to support Kiev in the regional conflict that began in February 2022. Republicans have refused to approve aid to Ukraine without Democrats agreeing to a significant tightening of immigration law.

Japan’s controversial behavior

Friday’s announcements represent a major break with its pacifist constitution, which bans the export of lethal weapons and limits the strike capabilities it is now looking to enhance.

Under previous rules, Japan could only export weapons components and was prohibited from delivering complete products.

The revised guidelines will now allow Tokyo to export completed products to countries where patent holders are located. Any re-export to third countries requires permission from Tokyo.

In the latest step under a new security strategy adopted by Japan a year ago, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government also allowed the export of weapons and components made in Japan under foreign licenses to licensed countries. The controversial move is the first major review of Japan’s arms export ban since a previous relaxation in 2014.

“By taking this action, we hope to contribute to defending a free and open international order based on the rule of law and achieving peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” Kishida told reporters, adding that “there is no change.” For our principle as a peaceful nation.”

The government quickly approved the first export shipment under this change, agreeing to send US Patriot surface-to-air missiles produced in Japan under a US license. Officials said it would supplement the US stockpile, raising speculation that Japanese-made Patriot missiles might be sent to Ukraine.

This facilitation also paves the way for potential future exports to the United States, Britain, and six licensed European countries, including dozens of lethal weapons and components, including F-15 aircraft and fighter aircraft engines.

“The scope, scale, and speed of Japan’s security reforms are unprecedented,” US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel said in a statement on X’s website. He praised the easing and transfer of defense equipment policy as historic and “an important example of Japan’s shared commitment.” “For deterrence.”

Takakage Fujita, head of Japan’s Murayama Debate on Inheritance and Development, believes that Japan’s expansion of defense spending and easing of arms exports is inconsistent with the country’s pacifist constitution, and Japan should adhere to the path of peaceful development.

“I think this is a very unwise policy,” Fujita told China Media Group (CMG). “It will increase tensions in Asia and put Japan in isolation. Now Japanese finances have a deficit problem, and huge military expenditures will make the Japanese remain isolated.” “People’s lives are more difficult. Given these factors, I believe that the record-high, misguided military spending budget should be rejected. I am against it.”

He added that it is an unwise policy for Japan to continue increasing defense expenditures, which will lead to regional tensions and plunge the Japanese government into more serious financial problems.

He also noted that Japan should not blindly follow the United States to create regional tensions. He said the Asian country needs to formulate an independent foreign policy to contribute to regional peace and development.

(With inputs from agencies)