VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Japan's plan to undertake its biggest military build-up since World War Two without increasing headcount is flawed, former and serving officers told Reuters, casting doubt over the country's efforts to deter regional rivals China and North Korea.

The five-year plan unveiled on Friday will double Japan's defence spending and add new capabilities, including long-range missiles and an expanded cyber warfare unit.

It will not, however, boost the size of its military, called the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), above a ceiling of 247,000 people set more than a decade ago.

Instead, it will retire attack helicopters, search-and-rescue planes and old warships in favour of drones and vessels that require fewer sailors, while also relying on civilian contractors for training and some limited support operations.

"It is just a paper plan and that should be corrected," said Yoji Koda, a retired navy admiral, who commanded the Japanese fleet in 2007-2008. "Manpower is the real issue for Japan to defend against China and North Korea," he added.

Koda said the plan would limit Japan's ability to fight in situations such as land invasions and sea battles, giving its foes an advantage.

Some serving officers also doubt the practicalities of the plan.

While pivoting to drones could avoid casualties in combat, such a move would take years and require more staff to maintain and operate them, one senior officer in Japan's air force told Reuters, requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to talk to the media.

"The problem is we can't make them fast enough to catch up with the threat level and compensate for the lack of manpower," the officer said.

Koda and retired Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, who served as the country's top military commander for five years until 2019, said Japan needs around 300,000 troops to execute its new plans.

In 2021, there were 230,754 people serving in the SDF, according to the defence ministry.

China, which Japan worries could launch an attack on neighbouring Taiwan following Russia's example in Ukraine, has around 2 million soldiers.

Japan's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

RECRUITMENT PROBLEMS

Japan's hopes of relying on a manpower-light army is a response to the long-running problem of finding recruits in an ageing country that still wrestles with its wartime past, analysts say.

It has repeatedly failed to hit its current 247,000 target, with applications last year just 84,825, a drop of 26% compared to a decade ago.

Even those keen to join have a tough time convincing their parents.

"My parents were against my pursuing a career at SDF. But I kept telling them that I wanted to join, now they are supporting me" Yoshito Yamaguchi, a 21-year-old student told Reuters at a recruitment event this month at an airbase near Tokyo.

He was one of only eleven people who attended the event.

By 2028, when Japan will have completed its military expansion, the number of 18-26 year-olds in the country will shrink by 800,000 to 10 million, according to the government.

Nozomu Yoshitomi, a professor at Tokyo's Nihon University and a retired major general, said staffing issues may occur in new areas such as cyber warfare where the government will have to match the high pay offered in private sector jobs to find talent.

"If the Japanese think automation...is going to make up for the personnel disaster they've got, they can forget about it," said Grant Newsham, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel and research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies who served as a USMC liaison officer to the SDF. (Reuters)

The World Bank has approved financing of $1.69 billion for flood relief projects in Pakistan, it said in a statement on Monday.

Pakistan's already stressed economy took a further hit after severe floods earlier this year submerged large swathes of the country, killing nearly 1,700 people, damaging farmlands and infrastructure.

The World Bank financing is aimed at relief projects in the south-eastern Sindh province, which it said was worst-affected by the floods. (reuters)

President Joe Biden met Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso on Monday to discuss efforts to stem the flow of migrants to the United States as the White House faces increased pressure over its immigration policies.

The Biden administration is required this week to lift Title 42, a public health order first issued under former President Donald Trump that allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection to rapidly expel migrants to Mexico or back to their home countries to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus in U.S. holding facilities.

Lifting the order, as required by a judge who said it was "arbitrary and capricious" and violated federal regulatory law, could lead to thousands of asylum-seeking migrants being released in border state communities and a greater influx of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Biden and Lasso sat beside each other in the Oval Office to begin their discussions.

"Today we're going to keep building on the progress we've made. Together we've made historic strides on migration," Biden told reporters.

Lasso said he and Biden would affirm democratic values of liberty and respect for human rights. After the meeting, he told reporters that migration did come up in their talks.

"We have talked about migration and migration as a consequence of the economic problems of many countries in Latin America. We have ratified our commitment to continue supporting, as we have done, the migration phenomenon, especially (migrants) from Venezuela in Ecuador," he said.

U.S. lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, on Sunday pressed Biden to take action to manage an expected wave of asylum seekers at America's southern border.

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat, appearing on the CBS News "Face the Nation" program on Sunday, urged Biden to ask for an extension of Title 42.

"The president needs to find a way," Manchin said.

Lasso visited the White House after former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, who is Biden's special adviser for the Americas, extended an invitation on the president's behalf during a recent visit to Ecuador.

Lasso attended the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles last summer after a number of key presidents opted to skip it and send delegations instead.

The Biden administration has sought to tackle what it calls the "root causes" of immigration, including poor economic conditions and political instability.

"We are obviously invested in Ecuador's success and the president of Ecuador, democratically elected as he is, is working hard to deliver prosperity and security for his people," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in a call with reporters on Friday. (Reuters)

Britain's government announced late on Monday that it would extend a programme that encourages lenders to offer 95% loan-to-value mortgages to first-time buyers, as the housing market heads into a downturn.

The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme was launched in April 2021 and had been due to stop at the end of this year but instead will continue until the end of 2023. More than 24,000 households have obtained mortgages under the programme.

The extension comes as lenders report falling house prices in the face of rising mortgage interest rates and a squeeze on buyers' disposable income. In October, inflation hit a 41-year high.

"Extending this scheme means thousands more have the chance to benefit, and supports the market as we navigate through these difficult times," deputy finance minister John Glen said.

Last week mortgage lender Halifax forecast house prices would drop 8% next year, and in November it recorded the largest monthly drop in house prices since 2008.

Under the mortgage guarantee scheme, the government receives a fee from lenders in exchange for covering almost all the extra risk of a 95% loan-to-value mortgage, compared to one that is made at 80% loan-to-value. The fee is intended to cover expected losses and administration costs.

British house prices surged by more than a quarter after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, making it hard for most first-time buyers to find a deposit greater than 5%.

The mortgage guarantee scheme can be used to finance house purchases costing up to 600,000 pounds ($731,000).

The Bank of England has warned that people with mortgages are likely to come under greater financial pressure over the coming year but are in a stronger position than before previous recessions in 2008-09 and the early 1990s. (reuters)