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MAJOR SECURITY SHIFT: Concerns about China behind Abe's push for collective self-defense
May 16, 2014
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe never mentioned China by name when he explained why he plans to reinterpret the Constitution to allow Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense.
However, Japan’s rising neighbor was clearly the potential threat in many of the scenarios the prime minister said are being considered for exercising that right.
“We will create the domestic legal structure to make possible a seamless response,” Abe said at a news conference May 15, explaining why the change in interpretation was needed. “In the world today, it is no longer possible for a single nation to defend its peace.”
The shadow of China was also evident when Abe explained the need to deal with so-called gray-zone situations for which there are currently no clear legal provisions regarding the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces.
Abe pointed to the fact that foreign ships have frequently violated Japanese territorial waters in the East China Sea.
“There might be the possibility of an armed group disguised as fishermen landing on one of Japan’s outlying islands,” the prime minister said, describing one example of a gray-zone situation. “We will further strengthen responses against such gray-zone situations.”
Although Abe stopped short of naming China in his news conference, his private Advisory Panel on Reconstruction of the Legal Basis for Security had no such qualms in the report it submitted to Abe earlier on May 15.
The panel’s report in 2008 made no direct reference to Chinese military trends. However, the latest report stated about China’s military budget: “It has expanded fourfold over the past decade, and the publicized figure for the current fiscal year is more than 12 trillion yen ($118 billion), which is close to three times Japan’s spending.”
The report also called for consideration of measures to deal with cases in which foreign submarines in Japanese territorial waters refuse requests to leave. That inclusion is a clear reference to the increasing frequency at which Chinese submarines have traveled far from the Chinese mainland.
The government plans to revise the SDF Law to allow for the expanded use of weapons to allow the SDF to deal with such situations. Other moves being considered by the government are also clearly targeted at China.
The current government interpretation of the pacifist Constitution bans Japan from exercising the right to collective self-defense.
Abe on May 15 reiterated his pet diplomatic slogan of “proactive pacifism” to explain the need for Japan to cooperate with the international community through the use of collective self-defense.
Along with future discussions within the ruling coalition on allowing for a constitutional interpretation change, the Abe administration is considering an expansion of rear-line support efforts for multinational forces approved by United Nations resolutions, as well as a relaxation of standards for weapons use by those engaged in U.N. peacekeeping operations.
Some high-ranking government officials have mentioned the possibility of spreading the exercise of the right to collective self-defense beyond the United States to include such nations as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Many of those nations are embroiled in territorial disputes with China, and the move to heighten military cooperation with such nations would be one way to contain Beijing’s maritime advances.
Abe stressed that his administration’s stance on collective self-defense should not be construed as changing Japan into a nation that will immediately go to war. However, any effort by Japan to strengthen its military capability to allow for greater cooperation with a larger number of nations could provide China with a reason to ratchet up its own military spending.
With Vietnam and China currently engaged in a fierce confrontation over sovereignty in the South China Sea, Japan could possibly be dragged into helping Vietnam if Tokyo decided to expand its exercise of the right to collective self-defense to include Southeast Asian nations.
Another troubling factor is the lack of a diplomatic strategy by the Abe administration to improve relations with China that have been hurt not only by the dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, but also by Abe’s visit in December to Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 Class-A war criminals are memorialized with Japan’s war dead.
In early May, a multipartisan group of lawmakers visited China and met with high-ranking Communist Party officials. There are signs that Beijing is open to exchanges among politicians of the two nations.
However, one Japanese delegate said, “It is clear that they want nothing to do with Abe.”
There are also signs that the United States has a slightly different take on Japan’s moves on collective self-defense.
A U.S. Defense Department official issued a statement on May 15 welcoming and supporting the move by Japan to discuss whether the exercise of the right to collective self-defense should be allowed.
U.S. President Barack Obama also expressed support for the move when he visited Japan in April.
However, at the same time, Obama said, “(China is) a critical country, not just to the region, but to the world.”
Regarding the dispute between Japan and China over the Senkakus, Obama said, “It would be a profound mistake to continue to see escalation around this issue rather than dialogue and confidence-building measures.”
Despite Abe’s repeated assurances that the door to dialogue with China is always open, many foreign nations are skeptical about his true motives given his stance on historical issues, as well as his December visit to Yasukuni.
“There is the risk that the discussion on collective self-defense could be tied to nationalism under the Abe administration,” said a former high-ranking government official who was involved in working on U.S. relations.
(Takashi Watanabe contributed to this article.)
May 16, 2014
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe never mentioned China by name when he explained why he plans to reinterpret the Constitution to allow Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense.
However, Japan’s rising neighbor was clearly the potential threat in many of the scenarios the prime minister said are being considered for exercising that right.
“We will create the domestic legal structure to make possible a seamless response,” Abe said at a news conference May 15, explaining why the change in interpretation was needed. “In the world today, it is no longer possible for a single nation to defend its peace.”
The shadow of China was also evident when Abe explained the need to deal with so-called gray-zone situations for which there are currently no clear legal provisions regarding the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces.
Abe pointed to the fact that foreign ships have frequently violated Japanese territorial waters in the East China Sea.
“There might be the possibility of an armed group disguised as fishermen landing on one of Japan’s outlying islands,” the prime minister said, describing one example of a gray-zone situation. “We will further strengthen responses against such gray-zone situations.”
Although Abe stopped short of naming China in his news conference, his private Advisory Panel on Reconstruction of the Legal Basis for Security had no such qualms in the report it submitted to Abe earlier on May 15.
The panel’s report in 2008 made no direct reference to Chinese military trends. However, the latest report stated about China’s military budget: “It has expanded fourfold over the past decade, and the publicized figure for the current fiscal year is more than 12 trillion yen ($118 billion), which is close to three times Japan’s spending.”
The report also called for consideration of measures to deal with cases in which foreign submarines in Japanese territorial waters refuse requests to leave. That inclusion is a clear reference to the increasing frequency at which Chinese submarines have traveled far from the Chinese mainland.
The government plans to revise the SDF Law to allow for the expanded use of weapons to allow the SDF to deal with such situations. Other moves being considered by the government are also clearly targeted at China.
The current government interpretation of the pacifist Constitution bans Japan from exercising the right to collective self-defense.
Abe on May 15 reiterated his pet diplomatic slogan of “proactive pacifism” to explain the need for Japan to cooperate with the international community through the use of collective self-defense.
Along with future discussions within the ruling coalition on allowing for a constitutional interpretation change, the Abe administration is considering an expansion of rear-line support efforts for multinational forces approved by United Nations resolutions, as well as a relaxation of standards for weapons use by those engaged in U.N. peacekeeping operations.
Some high-ranking government officials have mentioned the possibility of spreading the exercise of the right to collective self-defense beyond the United States to include such nations as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Many of those nations are embroiled in territorial disputes with China, and the move to heighten military cooperation with such nations would be one way to contain Beijing’s maritime advances.
Abe stressed that his administration’s stance on collective self-defense should not be construed as changing Japan into a nation that will immediately go to war. However, any effort by Japan to strengthen its military capability to allow for greater cooperation with a larger number of nations could provide China with a reason to ratchet up its own military spending.
With Vietnam and China currently engaged in a fierce confrontation over sovereignty in the South China Sea, Japan could possibly be dragged into helping Vietnam if Tokyo decided to expand its exercise of the right to collective self-defense to include Southeast Asian nations.
Another troubling factor is the lack of a diplomatic strategy by the Abe administration to improve relations with China that have been hurt not only by the dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, but also by Abe’s visit in December to Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 Class-A war criminals are memorialized with Japan’s war dead.
In early May, a multipartisan group of lawmakers visited China and met with high-ranking Communist Party officials. There are signs that Beijing is open to exchanges among politicians of the two nations.
However, one Japanese delegate said, “It is clear that they want nothing to do with Abe.”
There are also signs that the United States has a slightly different take on Japan’s moves on collective self-defense.
A U.S. Defense Department official issued a statement on May 15 welcoming and supporting the move by Japan to discuss whether the exercise of the right to collective self-defense should be allowed.
U.S. President Barack Obama also expressed support for the move when he visited Japan in April.
However, at the same time, Obama said, “(China is) a critical country, not just to the region, but to the world.”
Regarding the dispute between Japan and China over the Senkakus, Obama said, “It would be a profound mistake to continue to see escalation around this issue rather than dialogue and confidence-building measures.”
Despite Abe’s repeated assurances that the door to dialogue with China is always open, many foreign nations are skeptical about his true motives given his stance on historical issues, as well as his December visit to Yasukuni.
“There is the risk that the discussion on collective self-defense could be tied to nationalism under the Abe administration,” said a former high-ranking government official who was involved in working on U.S. relations.
(Takashi Watanabe contributed to this article.)
