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작성일 : 10-12-17 20:10
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Japan moves on from the Cold War
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 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12015563 [5006] | | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12015362 [7545] |
* 극동아시아 불안정의 주범은 누구였습니까? 그렇게 불안정하게 하게 만들 때의 뒷배경은 무엇이었습니까? 기실, 1990년대 이래로 자기미화와 과거 왜곡을 대놓고 일삼고 있어 미래에 대해 심히 걱정을 갖게 됩니다. 내부의 적과 상대하기도 바쁜데 외부의 적까지 준동하니 참으로 짜증나고 우려스럽습니다.
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Japan moves on from the Cold War
17 December 2010
Japan is reshaping its defence in response to the shifting balance of power in Asia.
Nearly two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country's strategic posture is moving out of the Cold War era.
The National Defence Programme Guidelines, which will shape policy for the next 10 years, point to China and North Korea as a bigger threat than Russia.
Relations between Japan and China have been strained since a territorial dispute over the Senkaku islands (known as the Diaoyus in China).
It began in September when Japan's coastguard arrested a Chinese fishing captain whose vessel had collided with two Japanese patrol ships.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
We do not have any concern about [Chinese] land forces, only maritime forces ”
End Quote Toshiyuki Shikata Retired officer
Japan had long been eyeing China's growing military power with anxiety, particularly its increasing activity at sea around the country's southern islands.
"These movements, coupled with the lack of transparency in its military and security matters, have become a matter of concern for the region and the international community," the defence review stated.
In response Japan is realigning its resources from the north - where armoured formations were deployed against the threat of invasion by the Soviet Union - to the south.
North Korean missiles
The key shift is from conventional, heavy force to more flexible units.
The number of tanks and artillery pieces will be cut, while the submarine fleet is expanded.
"The Chinese military expansion is not only on the sea, or in the sky, or on land, but directly influences Japanese sea communication [with] the Middle East," said Toshiyuki Shikata, retired Lieutenant General and corps commander of Japan's northern army, now a professor at Teikyo University.
"We do not have any concern about their land forces, only maritime forces like the navy and missiles. A drastic expansion of that kind of capability could be a threat in the future."
Another concern for Japan is North Korea, which has fired several missiles over the country in recent years, and launched an artillery attack on South Korea last month.
Its missile and nuclear programmes are described by the Japanese review as "a present and grave destabilising factor to the security of our country and the region".
Under the plan, Japan will increase the number of Patriot missile interceptor batteries deployed across the country.
The number of warships equipped with the Aegis ballistic missile defence system will be increased from four to six.
Asia watches
Japan's military is bigger than Britain's, but it is forbidden from engaging in offensive action by the country's post-World War II constitution.
For 50 years Japan has been in a security alliance with the US.
The relationship was frayed after the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) came to power in 2009, ending half a century of conservative dominance.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama tried to fulfil an election pledge to move an unpopular US marine base from the southern island of Okinawa.
When he failed, he resigned.
The new defence guidelines describe the alliance as indispensable and call for it to be strengthened.
"It's an admission from the DPJ government that the brief attempt to change the paradigm and to reach out for closer ties with Japan's neighbours, or even the Hatoyama concept of an East Asian Community, has been put on the shelf," said Koichi Nakano, associate professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo.
"With what has happened with China and North Korea, the DPJ government came around to the idea that strengthening of the US-Japan alliance is what needs to be done at this juncture."
Current Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said the new defence guidelines should not alarm Japan's neighbours.
But the shifting strategy will be closely watched in Asia, where Japan's wartime aggression has been neither forgotten, nor forgiven.
By Roland Buerk BBC News, Tokyo
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Japan defence review warns of China's military might
17 December 2010
Japan has unveiled sweeping changes to its national defence polices, boosting its southern forces in response to neighbouring China's military rise.
Japan, which shares a maritime border with China, said Beijing's military build-up was of global concern.
Japan will also strengthen its missile defences against the threat from a nuclear-armed North Korea.
China has responded saying it is a force for peace and development in Asia and threatens no-one.
China's Foreign Ministry said no country had the right to make irresponsible comments on China's development.
Flashpoints
The National Defence Programme Guideline has been approved by the cabinet and will shape Japan's defence policy for the next 10 years.
Japan is changing its defence policy in response to the shifting balance of power in Asia, analysts say.
Defences will be scaled down in the north, where they have been deployed since the Cold War to counter potential threats from the former Soviet Union.
The military focus will now be in the south of Japan, closer to China and remote flashpoint islands near Taiwan.
The guidelines say Japan is concerned by China's growing military spending, modernisation of its armed forces, and increased naval assertiveness in the East China and South China seas.
"These movements, coupled with the lack of transparency on China's military and security issues, the trend is a concern for the region and the international community," the new guidelines say.
Relations between Japan and China deteriorated sharply in September, after collisions between a Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol boats near a chain of disputed islands in the East China Sea.
North Korea concerns
The review paper outlines a shift in resources from the army to the air force and navy.
Japan's submarine fleet will be expanded from 16 to 22 and fighter jets upgraded, while the number of tanks will be cut by a third to 400.
North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes were also described as a "pressing and serious destabilising factor".
Pyongyang has fired missiles over Japan and staged nuclear tests in recent years.
Last month it unveiled a new uranium enrichment plant to US experts, and launched an artillery attack on a South Korean island, killing four people.
In response, Japan says more Patriot interceptor batteries will be deployed across the country, and the number of warships which can shoot down missiles will be increased from four to six.
It also plans to cut the number of soldiers by 1,000 to an official headcount of 154,000.
The US has an almost 50,000-strong troop presence in Japan. The paper called the Japan-US alliance "indispensable".
The review paper added that it was necessary to reduce reduce the burden on communities hosting US bases, including Okinawa.
Japan said it would "promote confidence and co-operation with China and Russia" while also developing ties with the EU and Nato.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sparked a diplomatic row with Japan earlier this year by visiting the Southern Kurils, which Japan calls the Northern Territories.
The islands, off the north coast of Japan's Hokkaido island, were seized by Soviet troops at the end of World War II, but Japan still regards them as part of its territory.
Japan has a pacifist constitution. Article Nine of the constitution, which was written under US post-war occupation in 1947, renounces the use of force by Japan in settling international disputes.
The BBC's Roland Buerk, in Tokyo, says the new strategic stance will be closely watched in Asia, where Japan's World War II aggression has been neither forgotten nor forgiven.
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