Defense policy
overhauled to meet new global threats
Review cites danger
posed by North Korea, China
By NAO
SHIMOYACHI
Staff writer
The Asahi Shimbun
The government
announced Friday plans to conduct a sweeping overhaul of its defense
policy, adjusting Japan's armed forces to better handle new threats such
as terrorism and giving them a greater global role.
China and North Korea
are identified in the review as key threats to Japan's national security
-- the first time specific countries have been cited in this fashion.
Regarding the main
missions of the Self-Defense Forces, the government has added "improvement
of the international security environment" to the traditional objective of
repelling attacks on Japan's territory.
This would pave the
way for more active participation in international peacekeeping
activities.
Aiming to turn the
SDF into a more agile force that can readily be deployed to counter
unpredictable threats and undertake overseas assignments, the new National
Defense Program Outline signals a departure from the highly limited
security policy Japan had maintained since the end of World War II.
"From a deterrent to
a responsive force, that is the future direction of our defense posture,"
Defense Agency chief Yoshinori Ono told reporters.
But he denied that
Japan would strive to gain offensive capabilities, as feared by some Asian
neighbors that suffered under Japan's wartime aggression.
Together with the
outline, the Cabinet approved a five-year defense buildup plan for fiscal
2005 to 2009 that maps out specific measures to achieve the posture it
sets forth.
The overall budget
for the plan was set at 24.24 trillion yen, down 920 billion yen from the
current one and the first cut ever.
Also on Friday, Chief
Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda stated that Japan would lift its
self-imposed ban on arms exports to allow the sale to the United States of
weapons and equipment related to missile defense projects it is jointly
pursing with the U.S.
The statement says
that only missile-defense-related products developed with the U.S. would
be exempt from the decades-old ban. It states that Japan will adhere to a
"cautious policy" concerning arms exports.
It leaves room for a
further easing of arms controls, nevertheless, stating that decisions on
whether to allow exports of equipment deemed to "contribute to
international efforts to combat terrorism and piracy" should be made on a
case-by-case basis.
The first and only
review of the National Defense Program Outline, first formulated in 1976,
came in 1995 and was designed to reflect the security environment after
the Cold War.
Marking a clear
departure from the Cold War-era framework that was still visible in the
1995 outline, Friday's initiative states that the possibility of a
full-scale land invasion is low and that weapons and equipment designed to
counter this threat should be reduced to "the most basic level."
Instead, the new
outline says Japan needs to be prepared to counter new threats and a
myriad of other scenarios, namely:
* ballistic missile
attacks;
* commando raids;
* invasions of
Japan's remote islands;
* intrusions into
Japanese waters by armed vessels;
* large-scale
disasters.
The policy also
promises more active SDF participation in overseas peacekeeping missions
and international efforts to combat terrorism.
"We used the modest
term 'international contribution,' " Ono said. "But our current
understanding is that the peace of the world is the peace of Japan. We
will play an active role" in the international arena.
The guidelines note
that Japan's long coastline is a "geopolitical vulnerability" and state
that "securing the sea lanes is crucial to prosperity and development."
Regarding the
potential threats posed by other nations, the outline says, "North Korea's
military moves are a grave destabilizing factor in the region."
It also states that,
"at the same time, Japan
must pay close attention to China's
modernization of its military and the expansion of its maritime
activities."
This reflects Japan's
growing concern over North Korea's missile and nuclear-weapons programs,
as well as the heightened activity of Chinese ships in the East China Sea.
Ties between Japan
and China remain frosty, with the nations battling for marine resources in
the East China Sea and clashing over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's
repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead as well
as convicted war criminals.
To meet the new
security challenges specified in the guidelines, Japan must have
"multifunctional, flexible and effective" defense capabilities that can be
deployed quickly and backed up by advanced information technology, the new
policy says.
This idea effectively
displaces the traditional "basic defense force" concept that was adopted
by the previous two outlines as a restraint on military expansion during
the Cold War.
At the center of
these new capabilities is the 1 trillion yen missile defense system, which
the government said it would introduce last December. It hopes to deploy a
two-tier missile shield combining sea- and land-based systems by 2011.
SDF organizations
will probably be revamped to facilitate the effective operation of the
missile defense system -- the Maritime Self-Defense Force and Air Self-Defense
Force will prepare some of their units and squadrons for missile defense-related
roles.
Separately, Japan has
been engaged in joint research with the U.S. on key components to be used
for a next-generation sea-based interceptor missile.
Outline points
overseas for SDF to defend Japan
The Asahi Shimbun
Japan's new defense
outline tears down geographic constraints on missions of the Self-Defense
Forces and allows troops to land in any country to fight a potential
terrorist threat.
The new National
Defense Program Outline, approved by the Cabinet on Friday, also specifies
North Korea and China as major potential threats to Japan's security.
It is the first time
China has been named a possible threat in a defense program outline.
The third National
Defense Program Outline also for the first time clearly states the SDF
will be prepared to meet two new threats-ballistic missiles and
terrorists.
The past two program
outlines made no mention of a possible threat source. Those outlines
instead laid down the minimum defense capability deemed necessary to
protect the nation from invaders.
The first outline was
compiled in 1976 when the Cold War was still raging. The second outline,
completed in 1995, was designed to lay out Japan's national security
strategy after the Cold War.
The third National
Defense Program Outline drastically expands the area in which the SDF can
defend the nation. It states the area from the
Middle East
to East Asia constitutes ``an
extremely important region for our security.''
Previous outlines did
not define an area for defense, but it was assumed the SDF would defend
the country in or around Japanese territory.
Defense Agency
officials said the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks against the United States had a significant influence
when the new program outline was drawn up.
In addition to
international terrorist groups, the program outline refers to North Korea
and China as potential threats.
The document states
that North Korea's military activities pose ``an important factor for
instability.''
It also states that
``there is a need to pay attention to future trends'' of China in light of
the modernization of its military and the expansion of its maritime
activity range.
The program outline
says the major objective of SDF activities is to ``improve the
international security environment and to ensure that threats do not reach
our nation.''
This implies that the
SDF will be dispatched to fight terrorism wherever it may pose a threat to
Japanese security.
To accomplish that
objective, the government must first revise the SDF Law.
Defense Agency chief
Yoshinori Ono indicated Friday that his agency would submit legislation to
the Diet session convening in January to give the SDF the legal authority
to upgrade overseas activities to a mainline duty. The legislation would
also simplify the chain of command for responding to incoming ballistic
missiles.
SDF members will
receive improved training and education to prepare for overseas
dispatches, according to the outline. Units will be reconfigured and
transport capabilities strengthened to allow for a rapid deployment of
troops.
The government
emphasized the Japan-U.S. security alliance as an important element to
respond to new threats.
The program outline
calls for closer cooperation with the United States through strategic
dialogue that would involve discussions on sharing strategic objectives
and dividing roles.
In particular, the
outline states the immediate need to establish a missile defense system in
cooperation with the United States.
To achieve that
objective, Japan will prepare four Aegis destroyers for the installation
of the Standard Missile 3 system. A surface-to-air Patriot Advanced
Capability 3 system will be deployed at three sites.
Those systems will be
acquired from the United States.(IHT/Asahi: December 11,2004)
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