(July 17, 2009)China has begun work to make its military capable of assuming missions other than the Taiwan issue, while North Korea may destabilize in the near future due to health problems of leader Kim Jong Il, the Defense Ministry warns in an annual white paper released Friday.

In such circumstances, Japan is exploring the military use of outer space and working to update the National Defense Program Guidelines that define its basic security policy and targeted capabilities for the coming years, the paper says.

In a Cabinet meeting, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada presented and won approval to the 427-page “Defense of Japan 2009″ report that basically covers the year to May. Its English version will be released later.

Beijing “has begun work to acquire the capability to engage in missions other than dealing with the Taiwan issue in recent years,” the latest report says, citing such Chinese moves as its space development efforts and active naval activities beyond adjacent waters.

“The military balance between China and Taiwan has changed to the advantage of China,” it also notes on the ground that, according to ministry officials, China outnumbered Taiwan in terms of advanced fighters in 2009.

Chinese destroyers and other vessels have boosted activities in waters near Japan as seen last October when a fleet of combat ships was for the first time spotted sailing between Hokkaido and the Honshu main island in open waters through the Tsugaru Strait into the Pacific, it says.

In addition, the Chinese Navy’s deployment since December of vessels to the Gulf of Aden for an anti-piracy mission — its first activity out of nearby waters — shows its capability to operate in a distant sea as well as an enhanced emphasis on protecting its sea lanes, it says.

Also pointing at Beijing’s interest in possessing aircraft carriers, the report cautions, “The scope of its capabilities appears to be expanding beyond waters near China.”

On North Korea, the report states, “It is difficult to dismiss the possibility that the regime will destabilize in time of a change in power structure that may take place in the near future,” given Kim’s reported health problems and age of 67.

Its May 25 nuclear test “shows the good possibility” that Pyongyang has made further progress in its nuclear program, and “it is difficult to eliminate the possibility that North Korea, in a relatively short time, realizes downsizing and making into warheads of nuclear weapons,” it says.

Pyongyang is also believed to have successfully extended the range of its ballistic missiles, it says, comparing the April 5 launch of what it sees as a Taepodong-2 long-range missile or its derivative to the mid-flight failure of a Taepodong-2 in 2006.

Japan, for its part, is promoting measures to use space for defense purposes and to ensure maritime security, including the ongoing anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden, the report emphasizes by setting up a new section on the matter this year.

On the military use of space, on which the ban was lifted by the 2008 space law, the Defense Ministry will “vigorously consider specific measures,” such as developing special satellites for the Self-Defense Forces to enhance its command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, it says.

The report has another new section to highlight the planned updating at the end of this year of the National Defense Program Guidelines, last renovated in 2004 featuring a lean SDF under fiscal restraints and a scheduled review in five years.

Japan’s defense-related budget decreased 0.8 percent to 4,702.8 billion yen in fiscal 2009, which began in April, from the year before for the seventh consecutive year of decline under the government’s fiscal austerity, it says. (PNA/Kyodo)