Beefing up of Japan SDF Blasted by KCNA Commentary

Pyongyang, September 23 (KCNA) -- Japan's ground "Self-Defense Force" has been staging the largest drills on record since Sept. 15.

The drills slated to last more than two months until late November will involve some 100 000-strong military personnel, at least 20 000 vehicles, up to 120 airplanes and even paramilitary forces.

The SDF said that the drills are the largest-ever since 1993. In reality the drills far exceed the precedence in terms of number of personnel, equipment, duration and program of the exercises.

The authorities say that the aim of the drills is to cope with emergencies including the movement of units and the transport of equipment and supplies but on the contrary the media analyze that the drills are aimed at "increasing capability to cope with marine activities of China and boosting defence capability in Nansei archipelagos in the light of China's intensified marine advance."

The large-scale exercises naturally arouse vigilance of the public in the region and around the world.

To coincide with this, Fuyuzuki, the escort ship of the maritime SDF, has been dispatched to the sea of the Middle East for the sixth time under the pretext of "securing ships' safe voyages."

The drills by the ground SDF and the dispatch of the warship evidently show the frantic zeal for reinvasion of the Japanese militarists determined to realize overseas invasion anytime by constantly perfecting their offensive capabilities for an aggressive war.

The bolstered "defense capability" is bound to find an "exit" in overseas invasion for sure.

What catastrophic disaster will be entailed by the imprudent arms buildup coupled with the militaristic ambition has already been proved by Japan's bloody past.

The SDF has long gone beyond the limit of "exclusive defense."

Japan's military spending getting all-time high every year and subsequent introduction of aircraft carriers, the latest stealth fighters and other offensive cutting-edge military hardware and its efforts to get ready for military operations in spheres of space, cyber and electromagnetic waves can never be explained with the signboard of "defense."

At present, Japan abandoned the "defence budget within the limit of one percent of the GDP" which it has maintained for decades since the end of the war, and publicly clamors for "possessing the capability for attacking the enemy's base" in order to ultimately take off the cloak of "defense."

What should not be overlooked is the fact that recently Japan has fomented ceaseless friction with neighboring countries under the plea of territorial dominium and naval security while staging a series of multi-national military drills at home and abroad under the mask of alliance-boosting.

Japan's ever-increasing war drills and uninterrupted overseas dispatches is as dangerous an act as looking for the "second Pearl Harbor" by its corpulent military force.

Japan should not run amuck, well aware that its slight military moves arouse great concern and vigilance of the region. -0