“Even if you are called a military maniac, you have to talk like this,” Mr. Ishiba talks about the importance of defense capabilities

What will change if China goes out to sea?

Mr. Since Ishiba-san came all the way here, I would like to talk about my awareness of the issues. This is the world map.

Ms. Saki Osawa (hereinafter referred to as Osawa): Yes.

Taira: Actually, China bought an aircraft carrier from Ukraine last year and was refurbishing it. China is originally a continental country, so it doesn't go out to sea very often. Even when they go out to sea, they often fail. In Japan, during the Kamakura period, there were two Genko invasions, but they also failed.

However, when comparing Japan's GDP and China's GDP, on a dollar basis, China's GDP is as big as Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It came out. It means that it came out to the Pacific Ocean.

Surprisingly, some critics say that it's okay because China has never tried to go out to sea and succeed. It's still not possible to do that much military operations with a single aircraft carrier, so I don't have anything to say right away. I think it's quite troublesome.

On the other hand, Japan is a maritime nation, so if the sea is not free, it will not develop, and oil will come from the Middle East. It's going to be

So, I brought a map today, and this orange line is the so-called C lane, and this is the Middle East. Singapore will pass through the Strait of Malacca and Taiwan through the Bashi Strait.

The South China Sea, which has become a hot topic recently, is around here. Right in the middle of C lane.

America is the place to rely on in times like this. Japan and the United States are in the Japan-U.S. Alliance, and there is the 7th Fleet in Yokosuka, which is Mr. Koizumi's constituency. Yes, but the 7th Fleet is in charge of the area west of here, and in fact, up to this point in the Indian Ocean.

In the meantime, President Trump came out. During the election campaign, Mr. Trump said that basically, no matter what happened in the distance, he would consider things from the point of view of whether the United States was profitable or not, so he said, "Then you can really rely on America. Is it going to happen?”

In the midst of this, Prime Minister Abe recently played golf with me and issued a joint statement. However, in the midst of the inauguration of President Trump, Japan is quite aware of the issues that it must seriously consider and respond to.

Speaking of national defense, Dr. Ishiba is the number one person, so I would like to hear your comments on this matter.