http://globalbalita.com/2015/05/07/china-is-accidentally-turning-japan-into-a-global-military-power/
China Is Accidentally Turning Japan Into a Global Military Power
By Joshua Philipp
Epoch Times
Epoch Times
Japan’s
Self-Defense Force honor guard prepares for a welcoming ceremony of new
Defence Minister Gen Nakatani in Tokyo on December 25, 2014. (Kazuhiro
Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)
News Analysis
In
less than two years, Japan transformed from a pacifist nation to a
major military power willing and able to defend itself and its allies,
and new draft legislation will further its shift. You can thank China
for this.
While
the changes don’t mean that Japan is immediately going to exert its
military globally, they mean that that time could soon come: they will
be able to join U.N. peacekeeping missions, defend their allies, such as
the United States, and even extend their defensive capabilities into
space.
Japan
used to have its arms tied behind its back with Article 9 of its
constitution, which outlawed war as a means to settle disputes. But in
November 2013, the Chinese regime created an air defense zone over the
East China Sea that included the Senkaku islands, which are under
Japanese control yet claimed by the Chinese regime.
The
Chinese regime didn’t let up. It threatened military action against
anyone who entered its defense zone without permission, and began
sending ships and jets into the territory. Japan didn’t back down.
According
to an analysis of the U.S.–Japan defense alliance, from the nonpartisan
Congressional Research Service, the Japanese government is now
finalizing draft legislation for new security policies that may reform
the role of Japan in global military operations.
Debate
over the draft legislation that could even allow Japan to participate
in U.N. peacekeeping missions, says the report, “will shine a light on
the willingness of Japan to become involved in conflicts for the sake of
aiding the United States, and on Japanese perceptions of the security
environment in East Asia.”
Japanese
citizens are becoming more aware of the military climate. A recent
public opinion poll showed that 64 percent of Japanese think China poses
a military threat, which the report notes “may lead Japan to shed more
of its pacifist restrictions.”
The
draft changes will affect Japan’s Mutual Defense Guidelines (MDG),
which it codified with the United States in 1978 and updated in 1997.
The report states, “The new MDG accounts for developments in military
technology, improvements in interoperability of the U.S. and Japanese
militaries, and the complex nature of security threats in the 21st
century.”
If
passed, the new MDG would allow Japan to cooperate with the United
States on cybersecurity, the use of space for defense, and ballistic
missile defense. According to the report, “Under the banner of
collective self-defense, the Japanese military would be able to defend
U.S. vessels and aircraft, provide noncombat logistical support to U.S.
troops, and engage in minesweeping operations.”
Its
proposed changes will also establish a standing “Alliance Coordination
Mechanism” that will involve agencies from the United States and
Japanese governments. According to the report, “This new coordinating
body removes the ‘seam’ between war and peace that had inhibited
alliance coordination during peacetime, such as during the disaster
relief response to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan.”
It
states the “decision to enable collective self-defense will facilitate
Japan’s involvement in more U.S. conflicts, in more significant ways”
and will give more opportunities to the United States and Japan through a
deeper alliance.
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