US Backs Militarization Of Japan In Response To China

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-hagel-backs-japan-plan-to-bolster-self-defense-2014-04


U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (L) shakes hands with Japan's Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he welcomed the possibility of Japan giving its military a greater role by allowing it to come to the aid of allies under attack.

The comment in an interview with Japan's main financial newspaper, the Nikkei, came ahead of a trip to Japan this weekend and represents the clearest U.S. support yet for Tokyo's effort to bolster its military as it faces off against a more assertive China.

"We welcome Japan's efforts to play a more proactive role in the alliance, including by re-examining the interpretation of its constitution relating to the right of collective self-defense," Hagel said in a written response to the Nikkei.

Hagel visits China, suspicious of Japan's military intentions and where memories of Japan's past militarism run deep, after Tokyo.



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