By Mina Pollmann
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force will now respond when Chinese vessels enter the Senkakus’ territorial waters.
On Tuesday, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga clarified that Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Forces (MSDF) can engage in a “maritime policing operation” when a foreign warship enters Japan’s territorial waters and is not practicing “innocent passage” under international law. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that such seaborne patrolling actions would be undertaken should Chinese naval ships enter the territorial waters surrounding the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani also confirmed, “If it becomes difficult for the police and Japan Coast Guard (JCG) to deal with the matter [in the East China Sea], there is the principle of having the SDF respond through maritime policing activities.” Per the Self-Defense Law, the MSDF could operate when the JCG is not sufficient to deal with the situation – such as when a foreign ship outguns the JCG. The Abe Cabinet decided last May that the defense minister could mobilize the MSDF following a phone conference should such a contingency arise.
Such a policing operation would be conducted under domestic law, and hence is not an act of war. Nonetheless, it still heightens the risk of military-on-military conflict compared to a mobilization limited to the JCG. Since a “policing activity” is a not a “defense operation,” there are limitations on use of weapons. But the MSDF can take other measures to demand the intruding ships leave, such as firing warning shots. Furthermore, weapons may be used when needed, i.e. for justifiable defense.
Japan has conducted seaborne patrolling actions three times in the past: against North Korean spy ships (1999), against a Chinese nuclear powered submarine (2004), and during antipiracy missions in waters off of Somalia (2009).
Read the full story at The Diplomat