Japan and the United States will eliminate existing geographical constraints under their revised defense cooperation framework to enable the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to assist the U.S. military anywhere in the world, sources said.
The landmark change in the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation means that the SDF’s rear support to U.S. forces in terms of supplies and transport will no longer be limited to “areas surrounding Japan.”
However, given the sensitive nature of the issue, an interim report on the new framework is expected to stress that Japan will maintain an exclusively defense-oriented policy as its basic approach, the sources said.
In addition, the report will likely not specify what actions the SDF will take in assisting U.S. forces around the globe.
Japan and the United States are expected to announce the new framework at a meeting between foreign and defense directors-general of the two allies in Tokyo on Oct. 8. They are slated to release a final report late this year.
The revised framework is intended to enable Japan to secure the U.S. military’s involvement to effectively counter potential threats from China and North Korea.
Tokyo and Beijing have been embroiled in a dispute over sovereignty of Senkaku Islands, a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea. North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests and repeatedly test-fired missiles, heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The Japan-U.S. guidelines were set in 1978 during the Cold War, and were revised in 1997 to prepare for a contingency on the Korean Peninsula in light of North Korea’s belligerence.
The current guidelines discuss Japan-U.S. defense cooperation under three areas: normal circumstances; an armed attack against Japan; and situations in areas surrounding Japan that will have an important influence on Japan’s peace and security.
However, the interim report for the new guidelines will replace these three areas of cooperation with the expression that Japan will provide assistance to the United States globally, the sources said.
The report is expected to stipulate that Japan will support and work closely with the U.S. military “seamlessly” under situations varying from normal circumstances to contingencies. These situations include not only armed attacks against Japan, but also so-called gray zone incidents that cannot be adequately handled by the Japan Coast Guard and police, even though such situations fall short of an all-out war.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration pushed a historic shift in the nation’s defense policy when the Cabinet in July approved a reinterpretation of the Constitution. The change was made to lift Japan’s self-imposed ban on exercising its right to collective self-defense, thus enabling the SDF to be deployed overseas to come to the aid of an ally.
However, many members of the public opposed that move, and Komeito, the junior coalition partner of Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, expressed apprehensions over the shift in policy.
Many Komeito lawmakers remain cautious about expanding the scope of SDF cooperation with U.S. forces under collective self-defense. In addition, the government and the ruling coalition have yet to reach an agreement over what the SDF can do to assist U.S. military.
Therefore, the interim report is not expected to detail SDF activities in collaboration with the United States, such as protecting U.S. vessels. It will also avoid using the term “right to collective self-defense.”
Tokyo is also expected to brief Chinese and South Korean officials on the gist of the interim report to address their expected concerns about the overhaul of Japan’s security arrangement with the United States.
Japan approached the United States for broader defense cooperation mainly because China has been increasingly flexing its military muscle in recent years.
(This article was compiled from reports by Shinobu Konno, Sachiko Miwa and Hisashi Ishimatsu.)
Japan’s SDF to assist U.S. military globally under new guidelines - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun
