JAKARTA - The Japanese government is expected to spend up to 900 billion yen, or about Rp118 trillion, to build two new destroyers equipped with the Aegis interceptor missile system.
This cost is said to be double the plan to build a previously canceled land-based defense system, according to a Japanese Government source, kyodonews reported Friday, May 21.
The estimated total price of both ships and the missile interceptor system, including repair costs, fuel and other maintenance costs over three decades, according to the source.
The Ministry of Defense has so far only announced an estimate of the basic cost for both ships, saying it could exceed 500 billion yen.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference Friday, the total cost estimate 'will be outlined soon'.
"Because public understanding is needed, the Ministry of Defense should consider how to explain it," Kato explained.
Earlier, the Government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had originally planned to deploy the U.S.-developed Aegis Ashore land-based ballistic missile defense system to address the North Korean missile threat.
But the plan was scrapped in June last year due to technical issues, swelling costs and public outcry. The total cost includes maintenance costs for 30 years after the introduction of land-based systems projected to exceed 400 billion yen.
As part of Japan's efforts to improve its defense capabilities in the face of north Korea's missile threat. Following China's increasing assertiveness in the region, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's Cabinet approved the construction of a new Aegis ship as an alternative plan last December.
Japan's Defense Ministry also plans to equip the destroyer, equipped with radar and missile launchers that have been contracted for land-based Aegis beforehand.
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