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Japan bares its
sword
By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO - Given a rapidly changing Asian
security scenario wherein China and India loom
large as future military powers, Japan has seen
fit to take the first steps to carve out a more
active role in international defense, according to
experts.
"Japan has preferred to play a
low profile in post-war security, but this is
changing steadily," Japanese military analyst
Toshiyuki Shikata said. "Today, Japan is paving
the way to becoming a respected power in Asia.''
Japan unveiled its new defense white paper
this week. In it, the government defines the
future role of its Self Defence Forces (SDF) as
one that is better able to deal with new threats
to national security such as ballistic missile
attacks and terrorism.
China's increasing
defense budget and modernization of its military -
increased 12.6% from the previous fiscal year -
were also closely outlined in the document titled
"Defence of Japan 2005".
''China is now
watched as a military power in Asia, and yes,
Japan's new policy is to be able to have its SDF
ready to respond militarily if there is an attack
from that country or any other,'' Shikata
explained.
A chapter in the new policy
report says Japan is now putting emphasis on a
proactive approach to conflicts or acts that are
closely linked to its own peace and security.
Shikata points out that this policy is
completely new. Japan's defeat in World War II led
the country to establish a post-war pacifist
constitution that stopped the country from
maintaining its own military and forced it to rely
heavily on the United States-Japan Security Pact
for its national security.
But 60 years
on, a changing global structure has led Japan to
raise its profile as a strong nation on the
international stage, second to none of its larger
Asian neighbors, according to the Foreign
Ministry.
As part of new steps in this
direction, Japan is working hard to gain a
permanent seat in the UN Security Council, amend
its constitution to allow military involvement
overseas and conduct its own negotiations with
Asian neighbors such as North Korea.
Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi has spearheaded a
close-knit relationship with the US, including
bending the pacifist, Article 9 clause in the
constitution so as to dispatch its SDF to Iraq to
support US troops, as well as launching a joint
missile-defense program.
The latest
US-Japan agreement has been described as ''setting
common strategic objectives to deal with new
threats such as terrorism and rogue states'',
provoking an angry response from China, which sees
the program as a bid to contain its interests in
the region.
Yet, experts say the new
defense policy is clearly defined. Japan aspires
to be a leader in Asia by expanding the role of
the SDF and working closely with the US.
Political analyst Harumi Arimasay said the
new thrust has created a divide among political
players - mostly between the proponents of a pro-
China policy and supporters of the US goal of
making Japan its key partner in its aspirations of
being the world's policeman.
''There are
many key players out there who are concerned that
Japan is throwing all its cards into the basket
held by Washington and they want a policy that
does not aggravate Japan's relations with China
too much,'' he explained.
For example,
China's natural gas drilling projects in the East
China Sea near an area that Japan claims as its
exclusive zone, is a major concern for Japan, and
pro-China experts are keen to settle territorial
disputes by building closer Sino-Japan relations.
Moreover, Japan's negotiations in the
recently concluded six-party talks with North
Korea on its nuclear program were not easy, given
that China, South Korea and Russia did not support
its push to include the issue of Japanese citizens
abducted by the North in the 1970s.
Lukewarm efforts on the part of the US to
support Japan on the issue were noted with
stinging disapproval in Tokyo, and disappointment
has also been heavy after Washington turned down
the bid by the G-4 (Japan, India, Germany and
Brazil) to be part of an expanded UN Security
Council.
Nobushige Takamizawa, director of
the policy section at the Defence Agency, said the
key words in the white paper pertain to building
multilateral cooperation with Asian countries in
the field of arms control and SDF activities, as
well as gaining the trust of the Japanese public
as the country moves ahead with its new role in
international security.
Experts see this
viewpoint as a sign of Japan's strategy to create
goodwill and gain support from the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations. Japan already has strong
economic ties with most of the countries of the
ASEAN bloc, which could come in handy as its
defense aspirations grow.
(Inter Press
Service) |
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