Japan's second big helicopter carrier, the Kaga, entered service on 22 March, giving
the Japan’s military greater ability to project power beyond its shores as it pushes
back against China's growing military might.
Accompanied by a military band, Maritime Self Defense Force commanders took possession of
the 248 metre (813.65 ft) long vessel at the Japan Marine United shipyard in Yokohama near
Tokyo, where it was docked next to its sister ship the Izumo.
Let us understand the significance, and know the details of this vessel.
Vice Minister of Defense, Takayuki Kobayashi said at the ceremony attended by about 500 people:
"China is attempting to make changes in the
South China Sea with bases, and through acts that exert pressure is altering the status
quo, raising security concerns among the international community".
The public statement clearly indicates Japan’s concern about increasingly aggressive China,
and induction of Kaga as being directly aimed to curb Chinese influence in the region.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that in recent years Japan had exaggerated
the "China threat" as an excuse to expand its military.
"I also want to say that the Kaga was sunk by the U.S. military in World War Two.
Japan should learn the lessons of history," Hua told a daily news briefing, referring
to the World War 2 Japanese ship, which was also named Kaga.
"We hope the return of the Kaga is not trying to be the start of the ashes of Japanese militarism burning once more."
The unruly Chinese response, underlines the growing uneasiness in China regarding Japan’s military build up.
The language also outlines the way China has behaved in recent times.
Izumo-class is a helicopter carrier class, meant to carry rotary blade crafts of different types.
Kaga like Izuma displaces 27000 tons when fully loaded.
The ship has a speed of 30 kn or 56 km/h.
It can carry up to 970 personnel including crew and troops.
The ship carries up to 28 aircrafts.
This can include Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopters, or Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters.
China has a large submarine fleet and Izumo-class is seen as a way to tackle this threat, as
it can carry significant number of Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopters.
Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopters are specially designed to detect and neutralize
enemy submarines.
Japan currently has about 102 SH-60 ASW helicopters of different variants, and is expected to
add another 80 new ASW helicopters by 2018.
Some experts have indicated that these 2 ships have the capability to work as a traditional
aircraft carrier, capable of carrying fixed winged fighter jets with some modifications.
It has raised eyebrows in China and elsewhere because it bears a strong resemblance to a
conventional aircraft carrier, and has been described by the Chinese, as an “aircraft-carrier
in disguise”.
In 2010, Forecast International reported that some design features were intended to support
fixed wing aircraft such as the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning
II, although neither the Ministry of Defense (MOD) of United States nor the Japan Maritime
Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) have mentioned the possibility of introducing carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft.
Japan's two biggest warships since World War Two are potent symbols of Prime Minister Abe's
push to give the military a bigger international role.
They are designated as helicopter destroyers to keep within the bounds of a war-renouncing
constitution that forbids possession of offensive weapons.
In its biggest show of naval power in foreign waters in more than 70 years, Japan plans
to dispatch the Izumo in May on a three-month tour through the South China Sea.
It is clear that countries like Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines are steadily
building up their respective military infrastructure keeping in view the Chinese threat.