22vPaX

asia policy
deployed for other missions than homeland defense—such missions include
surveillance, logistical support, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,
port calls, and combined training and exercises.
Japan’s new security legislation from last September will give the
government wider options on Japan-related security incidents for the first
time under the current constitution. Under the new legislation, in theory,
an armed attack against allied foreign forces—which is not a direct act of
aggression against Japan but clearly challenges its national sovereignty
and jeopardizes its fundamental stability—could be a subject of Japan’s
execution of the right of collective self-defense. Details of the government’s
options under the new legislation have not yet been announced, but it is
clear that the possibility of JSDF military operations in the South China
Sea under the new policy will become greater than before. One thing
to be noted is the fact that the government of Japan set another policy to
strictly limit the conditions to exercise its right of collective self-defense in
the abovementioned situations. A key objective of the restrictions is to not
violate the current pacifist constitution.
At the same time, maintaining the presence of U.S. forces in the region
is a core component of Japan’s security strategy. U.S. forces stationed in and
operating around Japan have two major missions. The first is maintaining
a strategic strike capability in Japan’s defense, and the second is to deter
aggression through their presence, thereby assisting in the maintenance
of regional stability. In the latter mission, Japan has played an extremely
important role for the United States. Without U.S. military bases and
support facilities, including fuel and ammunition depots in Japan, the
continuous presence of U.S. forces in the region would be very difficult to
maintain. In addition, Japan’s social and industrial infrastructure, which
forms the foundation of its overall support for U.S. forces, is indispensable.
Most likely, the JSDF will come to bear greater responsibility in supporting
U.S. operations in future South China Sea incidents than it has previously.
Japan’s Position on and Potential Measures toward the
South China Sea
Despite the fact that almost 80% of Japan’s crude oil imports, critical to
Japan’s vitality, pass through the South China Sea, the sea has been outside
the JSDF’s operational planning for decades. In general, many Japanese
people have found sticking to an armchair interpretation of the pacifist
constitution more comfortable than facing the possibility of real world
[ 32 ]