Page 18 - 2020 Defence White Paper

[Chart 1-1] Military Strengths of the Four Major Powers Surrounding the Korean
Peninsula

Russia United States
Defense Budget: USD 48.2 bn Defense Budget: USD 738 bn
No. of Troops: Approx. 900,000 No. of Troops: Approx. 1,380,000
Submarines: 49 Submarines: 67
Aircraft Carrier: 1 Aircraft Carrier: 11
Fighters: 1,183 Fighters: 2,670
Military Strength Military Strength
Nuclear capability enhancement, Nuclear capability enhancement
development of stealth fighters and and modernization, development of
strategic missiles, modernization of long-distance strategic bombers,
conventional weapons strengthening of missile defense,
cyber warfare and space

China Japan
Defense Budget: USD 181 bn Defense Budget: USD 48.6 bn
No. of Troops: Approx. 2,035,000 No. of Troops: Approx. 247,000
Submarines: 59 Submarines: 21
Aircraft Carrier: 2 Surface Combatants: 51
Fighters: 2,187 Fighters: 338
Military Strength Military Strength
Acquisition of new strategic Procurement of more F-35s, new
missiles, stealth fighters, and warning aircraft, Aegis destroyers,
aircraft carriers; strengthening of and submarines; reinforcement of
cyber warfare and space forces space, cyber, and electronic warfare
forces

 Sources: The Military Balance 2020 (International Institute for Strategic Studies, February 2020) and the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020.

United States In the 2017 National Security Strategy (NSS) and the
2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS), the US set its core
interests as protecting the homeland and the American people, promoting national
prosperity, preserving peace through strength, and expanding American influence,
and underscored the need to maintain its military superiority to support these efforts
through strength. Meanwhile, assessing China and Russia as nations in strategic
competition, the US is pursuing a long-term position of keeping these nations in
check in various areas including diplomacy and security.
In 2019, the US Department of Defense announced the "Indo-Pacific Strategy",
which embodies the NSS and NDS, presenting a free and open Indo-Pacific as
its vision. It also stressed that this vision can be realized through joint forces that
possess lethal capabilities and the solidarity among strong allies and partners. And to
achieve this, the US is exerting efforts to enhance its readiness posture and promote
partnerships and regional networks. To this end, the US continues to promote the
modernization of military forces and force enhancements, while seeking to improve

16 2020 Defense White Paper