Japan's decision to reinterpret its pacifist constitution to lift its ban on "collective self-defense" has major implications for China, says Duowei News, an outlet run by overseas Chinese.
According to the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who announced Wednesday that the decision has been approved by the cabinet, there are four scenarios whereby Japan could exercise "collective self-defense" under the new interpretation of the constitution.
The first is the use of its national missile defense system to intercept missiles targeted at the United States. The second is to deploy the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force if an American vessel is attacked on the high seas. The third is to use the Japan Self-Defense Forces to launch a counterattack if a mission participated by Japan is attacked by a foreign country in overseas territory. The fourth is to use force to remove obstacles during United Nations peacekeeping operations.
The four scenarios were supposedly raised in the context of North Korea's nuclear threat, protecting the effectiveness of Japan's alliance with the United States, and for the sake of Japan's security, Duowei said, though framing the re-interpretation in this manner also avoids it being viewed upon as an act of provocation against China in their ongoing territorial dispute over the Diaoyutai islands (Diaoyu to China, Senkaku to Japan) in the East China Sea.
United States defense secretary Chuck Hagel, who met with Abe in Tokyo in April, has welcomed Japan's decision to reinterpret its constitution.
Read the full story at Want China Times