According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Japan has relaxed regulations on the export of defense equipment and approved a decision to export "Patriot missiles" to the United States.
Regarding Japan's export of Patriot missiles to the United States, US adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement that the United States welcomes Japan's decision to hand over missiles to replenish US stockpiles. Shali said that this decision will contribute to Japan's security and peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Patriot missile is an all-weather multi-purpose surface-to-air tactical missile developed by the United States, which is used to deal with advanced high-performance fighters, destroy short-range missiles in an electronic jamming environment, and intercept tactical ballistic missiles and submarine-launched cruise missiles. At present, Patriot missiles are the main defense system of the US air defense system, and they are also exported in large quantities to allies and partners, such as Japan, Israel, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine and other countries are equipped with Patriot missile systems.
Since the Patriot missiles were developed by the United States, why do we need Japan to export them to the United States in the opposite direction?There are two key messages that deserve our attention.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the United States has provided $110 billion worth of economic and military assistance to Ukraine, and plans to provide $60 billion in aid, including the Patriot missile system.
After the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israel was frequently attacked by Hamas rockets, and in addition to using the Iron Dome defense system to intercept rockets, Israel also used arrow missiles and Patriot missiles to intercept medium and long-range missile attacks.
The United States has successively supplied Patriot missiles to Ukraine and Israel, which has significantly depleted US missile stockpiles. At the same time, the United States still has undelivered orders for exports to some countries, and its domestic production capacity cannot keep up, so it can only import from Japan to replenish its own inventory.
As a defeated country in World War II, Japan is bound by international treaties and the Japanese Constitution in the production and manufacture of lethality. However, in recent years, Japan's ambitions have become increasingly inflated, and it has frequently amended the constitution and other relevant documents to give the green light to its own exports.
As early as 2014, the "Three Principles of Exports" were amended, which were formulated in accordance with Japan's 1967 post-war pacifist constitution. The "Three Principles for Exports" has been revised to become the "Three Principles for the Transfer of Defense Equipment" to allow the export of defense equipment "under certain conditions." There are two obvious changes here: one is to modify ** to defense equipment;The second is to modify the export of defense equipment to the transfer of defense equipment. Japan is weakening sensitive words, and the purpose is to pave the way for exports.
In 2022, Kishida** adopted a new version of the security policy, "changing Japan's defense and security policy from defense to offense", and promised for the first time to promote the export of defense equipment. On 22 December, Japan once again revised the "Three Principles for the Transfer of Defense Equipment" and decided to provide the United States with Japanese-made Patriot missiles, thus taking a substantial step forward in Japan's exports.
Prior to this, Japan could only manufacture parts and components for the country's missiles according to the license of the United States, but after the revision of the policy, Japanese contractors will be allowed to export finished defense equipment to the manufacturing licensing countries, which is undoubtedly a major change in Japan's defense equipment transfer policy. This also means that for the first time, Japan will export lethal equipment overseas.
In fact, Japan's ambitions are far more than that, Japan not only provides the United States with surface-to-air missile parts, but also provides Vietnam and the Philippines with maritime patrol boats, provides Ukraine with military helmets and bulletproof vests, and plans to jointly develop the next generation of stealth fighters with the United Kingdom and Italy in the near future.