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| Image by Flickr user: Official U.S. Navy Page |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
Both sides seem to be trying to defuse tensions, if not actually addressing the underlying causes.
“The Japan-US alliance is the linchpin of Japan’s diplomacy and security and a public good for not only the Asia-Pacific Region but also the international community.” This statement is from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its official website. Japan has traditionally placed a premium on close ties with Washington in matters of national defense. In this spirit and cognizant of the volatile security environment of East Asia, the United States and Japan are currently working on revising defense plans for the first time since 1997. In October 2014, the U.S. Department of Defense published an Interim Report on the Revision of the U.S.-Japan Guidelines for Defense Cooperation (PDF) outlining new threats and Japan’s increased role in the alliance.
The report states:
The revised Guidelines will detail cooperation between the two governments in situations involving an armed attack against Japan, and in case of an armed attack against a country that is in close relationship with Japan where Japan’s use of force is permitted under its Constitution and in accordance with the Cabinet decision by the Government of Japan on July 1, 2014.
Although not explicitly naming China, it is clear that the People’s Republic and its perceived regional expansionist ambitions underlies the principle reason for the revision of the guidelines. In July of this year and the first time since 1947, the Japanese government led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe moved forward with a reinterpretation of Japan’s constitution (Article 9) allowing the Japanese military to defend the United States and other allies in times of conflict. Despite some limiting stipulations (e.g., Japan’s survival must clearly be at risk) on the exercise of collective self-defense, the constitutional reinterpretation is a watershed event (PDF) in Japanese post-1945 defense policy.
Read the full story at The Diplomat