Bill to remove shackles on Japanese Navy

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

THE HINDU
October 8, 2000
HEADLINE: Bill to remove shackles on Japanese Navy

TOKYO, OCT. 7. The Japanese Navy will soon be empowered to board and 
inspect vessels even without a United Nations Security Council 
resolution authorising such action.  Under U.S. pressure, the three 
parties which form the ruling coalition under the Liberal Democratic 
Party will submit a Bill any day now to seek legislative sanction 
behind the measure.

Officially called the Maritime Self-defence Force (MSDF), the 
Japanese navy is also forming a 60-member special operations force. 
The Special Guard Force, as it is being called, will comprise three 
platoons and will be trained by the U.S. SEALs (the sea, air, land 
special forces).  Like most such forces, the names of individuals 
selected for the unit will be kept secret.  The Navy is also planning 
to replace its old propeller driven P3C anti-submarine planes of 
which it has 80, made under licence from the U.S.  The Defence Agency 
is also studying the idea of replacing the navy's missile escort 
ships with the sophisticated computer-assisted air defence Aegis 
escort ships.

Japan currently has four Aegis missile ships but considering that it 
takes five years to build an Aegis vessel, an early decision is 
required before these four retire in 2010.  The Aegis is also the 
platform that will bear the controversial Theatre Missile Defence, if 
it is decided to deploy the system once research is concluded.  A 
prominent pro-active regional role with the U.S., a leadership role 
on anti-piracy measures and greatly increased Chinese naval activity 
have encouraged the MSDF to widen its role and raise its profile. 
The same factors have prompted the public to bless such a role.  That 
is one reason why within two days of the arrest of a naval officer 
last month for allegedly providing documents to a Russian defence 
attache, the Japanese MSDF could carry out a scheduled exercise in 
Kamchatka with Russia's navy, without any public uproar.

A Japanese submarine, a submarine rescue support vessel and a deep 
submergence rescue vessel (DSRV) are currently taking part in 
"Exercise Pacific Reach 2000," a joint submarine exercise in the 
South China sea with the navies of South Korea, Singapore and the 
U.S. Navy.  This venture had drawn a comment last May in the weekly 
edition of the Chinese People's Liberation Army daily, which said 
Japan's participation was "a dangerous signal" offering further proof 
of "the ghost of militarism stirring on the Japanese archipelago."

Ghost or not, the Japanese navy is most certainly reminding the 
region that historically it has been the most prominent arm of the 
defence forces, not to mention that it is by far Asia's most powerful 
navy.  Pearl Harbour and the Russo-Japan war of 1905, if not beyond, 
are historical reminders about its reach, if any were needed.  The 
important point now is that the Government and the public have chosen 
to remove the navy's shackles.

The Bill to empower ship inspections is a year overdue.  It was to 
form part of a regional contingency security law, which itself was 
the main legislative instrument in the U.S.-Japan revised defence 
guidelines related laws.  Owing to disagreement among the three 
coalition partners, the contingency law was passed but without the 
ship inspections issue.

The earlier draft linked inspections specifically to a Security 
Council resolution, but legislators called that impractical because 
for instance, China as a member with veto powers would not allow a 
Japanese force to board a North Korean vessel.

The new Bill will now authorise Japan, under special circumstances 
bearing on national security to check the cargo, inspect documents 
and even seek to divert vessels from their destination without a 
Council resolution giving specific authority, but preferably with 
consent of the target vessel.

The decision to set up a special operations force is part of the 
five-year defence modernisation beginning April next year.  The 
immediate trigger to establish such a unit came a year and a half 
back when the coast guard, known as the Maritime Safety Agency, found 
it had not even the authority to fire to disable when two vessels, 
supposedly from North Korea, entered Japanese waters and escaped when 
given chase.  The new force will be allowed to use force and disarm 
intruding vessels and even board them directly from helicopters.