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| Murasame class Destroyer (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By James R. Holmes
In trying to counter China in the East China Sea, the JMSDF is honing its skills.
Two takeaways linger from the Naval Diplomat’s trip to Yokosuka a couple of weeks back, which included a visit to the destroyer JDS Murasame. First: Japanese mariners grok the value of naval diplomacy. Appearances matter in maritime affairs, and so diplomatic outreach demands showmanship. Indeed, the routine ship tour — a humdrum chore that provokes grousing from junior officers and enlisted crewmen everywhere — turns out to be a handy if not indispensable political implement. This larger purpose was largely lost on me during my time in uniform, when I was saddled with my share of ship tours. Tours were tedium! With no point other than kissing up to muckety-mucks!!! Or so it seemed.
Done right, though, naval outreach impresses visitors. It shapes perceptions among audiences able to influence a nation’s nautical destiny. Think about it. The ability to prevail in combat is the true audit of a navy’s adequacy. In peacetime, however, it’s tough to gauge the efficacy of a man-of-war, or its armament. Crews expend practice rounds in maneuvers, but there’s a canned quality to peacetime exercises. The atmosphere of war — danger, chance and confusion, stark passions like fear and spite — is hard to replicate absent a thinking adversary who returns fire. The best exercises, then, are doubtful indices of military effectiveness.
If naval leaders want to burnish their fleet’s reputation for seamanship and combat prowess, consequently, presenting ships and aircraft well represents their best substitute for battle results. The look of a ship matters. Granted, the best-looking fleet may not be the most capable. It’s possible to spend too much time and effort making a ship a showboat, to the detriment of battle efficiency. All else being equal, however, bet on the contender that deploys clean, tidy, rust-free warships against a fleet of rustbuckets. Good upkeep projects an image of competence and pride. In all likelihood, a well-kept vessel is a well-handled vessel. A slovenly vessel? Fuggedaboutit.
Read the full story at The Diplomat