Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

China News and Report 01 June 1999
by Lu Zhongwei, deputy director of the China Institute of Contemporary
International Relations

During a faily long period after the World War II, Japan has carried out a national strategy of "one center, two basic points". The center is to turn itself into a "big economic power", while the two basic points refer to "Japan-US alliance" and "peaceful constitution". Entering the 1990s, the priority in economy was gradually replaced by the strategic aim of becoming a "political power". As a result, the Japan-US relationship was put onto the agenda of Japanese foreign policies. To implement its new national strategy, Japan took several dangerous steps: In April 1996, the US-Japan Joint Declaration on Security was signed, redefining the "alliance" at a strategic level; in September 1997, military institutions of the two countries issued revised Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as "New Defense Guidelines"), determining its "sphere" and "objectives" from a military perspective; the recent relevant bills helped promote the military wills to national wills, which stresses the Japan-US military alliance, thereby serving its aim of building a "political power" and then a "military power". This series of measures have exerted great influence over the security frame in the Asia-Pacific region.

First, the advancement of the "New Defense Guidelines" and relevant bills shows that Japan has finished adjusting its relations with the United States and China almost at the same time. In this triangle relationship, Japan has decided to sacrifice the security interests of China to serve the Japan-US relationship.

In adjusting its relationship with the United States, Japan had three choices: To "break away from the United States and join Asia", to "unite the United States and join Asia" or to "break away from Asia and join the United States". Taking many faceted factors into consideration, Japan selected the plan to "unite the United States and join Asia". That is to say, Japan will try every expense in diplomatic, economic and trade fields to maintain its relationship with the United States, the core of which is that Japan could coordinate with US forces in areas surrounding Japan. In this way, it will upgrade its strategic role in the Asia-Pacific region. The fact is that there is no military alliance in the world without an imaginary enemy. China, at this time, became a target of Japan-US military alliance. As a signatory state to the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, China's national interests will be greatly harmed. This is a profanity of Sino-Japanese relations and a diplomatic trickery in a "zero-sum game".

Second, the "New Defense Guidelines" and relevant bills did not clearly exclude Taiwan out of its surrounding areas, which posed a threat to China's reunification cause and laid a hidden trouble for the strategic opposition between US-Japan union and China.

Japan and the United States determine their military cooperation in "surrounding areas" and say this is not a geographical concept but refers to a situation. However, they never clarify that Taiwan is not included in the sphere of "surrounding areas". From the speeches of some officials and regulations of relevant bills passed recently, people may see clearly Japan's intention to encroach on the Taiwan issue.

There is an article about "far-east" in the Japan-US Security Treaty signed in 1951. In 1960, Japan officially defined the "far-east" as "north to the Philippines and areas around Japan, including the Republic of Korea and Taiwan". Though Japan keeps talking ambiguously about the "far-east", it affirms this concept in geographical field. Besides, "surrounding situations" as set in the relevant bills are mainly said in a geographical sense. For example, the "surrounding situations" include the time when a military dispute is impending or happens in areas surrounding Japan, or when a "civil war" breaks out in a country and expands to the world. Apparently, the "surrounding situations" do not refer to Europe, South America or Africa, but to a restricted geographical sphere. To put it in another way, if China takes actions to deter "Taiwan independence" in order to maintain State sovereignty and territorial integrity, and if the United States intervenes illegally, Japan will get involved in it directly or indirectly by way of military cooperation. This will surely lead to a retrogression in Sino-Japanese relations.

Third, the "New Defense Guidelines" and relevant bills have developed the Japan-US military alliance into a style of NATO. Japan stresses its military strength and participates in the "group defense". Its "Special Defense Policy" and ideology of "not developing into a military power" exist in name only.

The "New Defense Guidelines" are principles governing Japan-US military cooperation, revised from the old one compiled in 1978. The guidelines have three new aspects: First, Japan's "special defense" within its own territory has been changed into military interference with regional conflicts; second, Japan's military space has been expanded from the "far-east" to "areas surrounding Japan"; third, Japan's military cooperation with the United States has turned from a static participation by providing military bases to a dynamic one through actual combat. For this purpose, over 40 military cooperation programs were added. To guarantee the implementation of the "New Defense Guidelines", three relevant bills were passed. They are respectively about the situation surrounding Japan, an amendment to the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and an amendment to the Cross-Servicing Agreement between Japan and the United States. In fact, this is a complete set of "war acts" which facilitate Japan to deploy forces, transport ammunitions and participate in a combined war. Its aggressiveness and dangerousness have totally altered the defensive nature of the "Special Defense Policy".

If a military dispute is impending or happens in areas surrounding Japan, according to the act about "surrounding situations", the country may go through the following procedures: First, required by the United States, which will use forces bypassing the UN Security Council, it will join the war. Then, it will work out plans for cooperation with the United States once its government designates the dispute a "surrounding situation". Meanwhile, a Security Guarantee Conference will be held under the presidency of the prime minister to discuss counter-measures and then submit them to the Cabinet meetings for approval. After that, the SDF will assume the responsibilities of "rear area assistance" such as the transportation of weapons, food and ammunition and "rear area search rescue" to rescue the US armies in danger. The Japanese SDF will actually join the war, for in modern combat, it is hard to differentiate the front and the rear. Logistic support is an important part of a war.

To put it simply, the "New Defense Guidelines" allow Japanese armies to break through the constitutional restriction and act as a regional police, thereby promoting its position in regional strategy, which poses a great threat to the security in the Asia-Pacific region.

Fourth, the advancement of "New Defense Guidelines" and relevant bills will ignite a wave of constitutional amendment in Japan. Japan will further expand its armament and the danger of deviating from the peaceful track will increase.

Since 1990, nationalism has gained more ground in Japan, militarism spread widely, the noises stressing military strength increased and constitutional amendment become a "pet phrase" of right-wing politicians. They propagated that the present Japanese Constitution has deprived the country of its right to enter a war, that Japan is no longer a country, but only a community; and that Japan should become a "common country" to enter the international community decently. In their eyes, the peaceful Constitution has blocked Japan and prevented it from becoming a military power. Therefore, it must be got rid of.

Different political parties conducted an intense debate while deliberating relevant bills of the "New Defense Guidelines". Now they have been passed. People are waiting to see how Japan will act in the future.