Japan wants to drastically increase defence spending "within the next five years" it said on Tuesday in an annual economic policy document that for the first time mentioned both a time frame for the expenditure and concern about threats faced by Taiwan.
Neither the five-year period or the reference to the democratic, independent island that China considers as part of its territory, had figured in a draft of the document last week. Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.
