U.N. sizes up Japan as peacekeeper
NEW YORK – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is forging ahead with a plan that could increase the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces overseas under new parameters, and the United Nations welcomes a national debate in Japan on the issue as it views the potential to improve peacekeeping efforts with Tokyo’s help.
“The broader policy debate that is going on in your country with respect to Japan’s engagement in the further peacekeeping is something that we welcome very much,” Ameerah Haq, U.N. undersecretary-general for field support, said in an interview at her office.
“It solidifies the partnership between Japan and the U.N. and Japan’s contribution to the peace and security agenda of the U.N.”
On July 1, Abe’s Cabinet made a decision to reinterpret, rather than amend, the Constitution in a way that allows Tokyo to exercise the right to collective self-defense, or coming to the aid of an ally under armed attack.
The divisive decision triggered debates about the pacifist Constitution, which had previously been interpreted as limiting the use of force strictly to its own defense.
The decision could lead to the relaxation of Japan’s strict rules on SDF weapons use.
As it now stands, Japan is the second-largest contributor to the peacekeeping budget at the international body after the United States. Tokyo provides 10.83 percent of its annual funding and has dispatched troops to non-war zone locations in Cambodia, Mozambique, the Golan Heights and East Timor.
Japan is currently involved in a peacekeeping operation in South Sudan where several hundred members of an engineering unit have been installing infrastructure since 2012.
Over half of the 17 U.N. peacekeeping missions are in Africa, where the need is greatest.
Haq pointed out that the U.N.’s demands go beyond the need for “enablers” — those who help build critical infrastructure. With looser restrictions on use of force, Japanese troops could perform various roles with the infantry, police units and in other staff positions also involving planning, she said.
More boots are required on the ground in Africa, particularly in countries like Mali and the Central African Republic.
When U.S. President Barack Obama met Abe in Tokyo in April, the prime minister was approached to actively engage more of Tokyo’s troops on the continent, according to an unnamed U.S. government source. Abe is said to be considering the request, which Haq said would contribute “very positively” to peacekeeping efforts.
The undersecretary general hopes Tokyo could also assist by providing equipment and training. Haq highlighted how lengthy deployments from distant countries like Japan, where troops may be tasked to build roads or airports, for instance, are problematic.
Setting up such missions typically takes awhile, and much time is lost moving heavy machinery, potentially putting more civilians at risk in the process.
The head of field support suggested that if Tokyo supplied engineering equipment, for example, it could help alleviate the situation. By sending machinery to a regional hub in Uganda, contingents from other African countries could be trained there to use it and then be quickly dispatched to conflict zones as needs arise.
The equipment is usually only necessary for the first 12 to 18 months, after which it could be shipped to other zones on an as-needed basis.
“The difficulty that we have is a number of troop contributing countries don’t have that equipment,” she explained. “This is something that Japan, I think, can play a very important role.”
Haq listed numerous missions in places like Darfur, Congo, Mali, the Central African Republic and even more in South Sudan where the Japanese could have potential roles to play.
As the annual budget creeps up to cope with rising conflicts, the field support chief is pushing to streamline operations by incorporating new technology, as well as making operations more environmentally friendly and modern.
Simple technologies, such as new types of tents used by Norwegian troops, which are insulated and quickly set up and broken down, could have far reaching benefits to other missions in harsh climates.
More sophisticated technologies, such as the unmanned aerial vehicles, have also proven successful in the Democratic Republic of Congo and have broader applications elsewhere.
Haq highlighted the success of a mission in Lebanon where 30 percent of the energy is generated by a solar farm.
As a nation recognized for “cutting edge” technology, she sees room for Japan’s contributions in that area as well.
Against the backdrop of efforts to make operations “smarter,” Haq is quick to describe how peacekeepers have dramatically changed over the last 70 years.
“The challenges are huge because of the complexities,” she explained, noting how the days of peacekeepers sitting on a border with binoculars monitoring are largely gone.
Modern peacekeepers must operate nimbly in new environments. They are often required to mediate with nonstate actors and rebel groups in collapsed states as well as cope with threats from improvised explosive devices in precarious security environments to carry out mandates to protect civilians in dangerous circumstances.
Meanwhile, the international body must wait and see if Abe’s plan is supported and whether more Japanese troops with expanded roles will become a reality.
U.N. sizes up Japan as peacekeeper | The Japan Times
