Extending SDF missions
(From The Japan Times Sept. 30 issue)

自衛隊の活動期限延長は慎重に

    A law specifying a duration of two years — enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States — has enabled the MSDF mission so far. That law will expire Nov. 1.

    The legislation raised a constitutional question and should not be extended offhandedly.

    International cooperation is important for thwarting terrorism. Afghanistan took a landmark step in its march toward peace and democracy by holding elections Sept. 18 for the National Assembly and Provincial Councils, the first such elections under its new Constitution. The fact that the elections occurred with relatively little confusion was a sign of progress that strengthens the case for ending the MSDF's mission.

    Regrettably, this issue was not publicly debated during the recent election campaign as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi chose to focus on one issue essentially — the postal service privatization bills. The government is scheduled to submit a revision bill that would extend the MSDF mission by one year to the current special session of the Diet. Thorough discussion is demanded of legislators.

    The legislation for special measures against terrorism passed the Diet on Oct. 29, 2001, with the support of the Liberal-Democratic Party, New Komeito and the then Conservative Party. The law was opposed by the Democratic Party of Japan, the then Liberal Party, the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party. It was revised in October 2003 to permit a two-year extension.

    The law's primary aim was to provide backup logistic support to U.S. forces engaged in military activities in Afghanistan. It has enabled the MSDF to carry out support activities, mainly supplying fuel to ships of the U.S. Navy and other nations in the Indian Ocean, and to provide transportation assistance for refugees. It also has enabled the Air Self-Defense Force to transport supplies for the U.S. armed forces.

    Under the law, the Self-Defense Forces may carry out their activities only in international waters and areas of foreign countries where there is no fighting. In the latter case, permission from the governments concerned is required.

    The special measures legislation marked a turning point in Japan's security policy because it enabled the wartime dispatch of SDF units overseas. The law has aroused suspicion that it may violate the Constitution under which use of force abroad is prohibited.

    Separately, a law enacted July 26, 2003, authorizing special measures for humanitarian assistance in Iraq enabled the dispatch of a Ground Self-Defense Force unit to Samawah, Iraq. This, too, provoked suspicion that it might be unconstitutional.

    At present, four MSDF supply ships take turns supplying fuel in the Indian Ocean, accompanied by two to four destroyers. By the end of August, the MSDF ships had provided about 407,000 kiloliters of fuel free of charge (but worth about ¥16 billion) to ships of the United States, Britain, Germany, New Zealand, France and six other nations on 541 occasions. The Defense Agency does not disclose the names of ships that receive fuel or the locations where refueling takes place on the grounds that it would unveil details of the operations involved.

    Suspicion lingers that the MSDF has provided, or is providing, support to the U.S. armed forces in Iraq-related activities since the Iraq war began. In the Diet, an opposition lawmaker alleged that a declassified document of the U.S. armed forces shows that the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, from which air raids against Iraq were mounted, received fuel from a U.S. supply ship that earlier had been supplied by an MSDF ship. The government has not offered a convincing answer to the allegation.

    It has been reported that Mr. Koizumi, at one point, considered pulling the MSDF out of the Indian Ocean but instead has opted for a one-year extension of the 2001 law for fear of souring his government's relations with the Bush administration. The LDP's landslide victory in the Lower House election Sept. 11 may have led Mr. Koizumi to think that a revision to the law will easily pass the Diet. The government is also most likely to choose to extend the GSDF unit's mission in Samawah, which is due to expire in mid-December.

    It is impossible to contain terrorism by military means alone. Japan should expand its activities that concentrate on eliminating the social and economic causes of terrorism in cooperation with other nations under the leadership of the U.N.

The Japan Times Weekly
Oct. 8, 2005
(C) All rights reserved

    テロ特別措置法は米同時多発テロ後国会成立し、現在の2年間の活動に法的根拠を与えてきたが、11月1日に期限が切れる。しかし同法には憲法問題がからんでおり、不用意に延長すべきではない。

    テロとの闘いには国際協力が不可欠だが、 アフガニスタンは新憲法の下で9月18日、国民議会、地方議会選挙を実施、大きな混乱はなかった。このことは海自の任務終結の根拠になりえる。

    先月の総選挙で小泉首相は自衛隊の海外活動問題にはほとんど触れなかったが、関連法案が提出される今国会で十分議論を尽くすべきだ。

    テロ特措法は01年10月に、自民、公明、元自由党の支持で可決成立、03年10月の法改正で2年間の期限延長が決定された。

    法の下では、海自による連合軍の後方支援は、公海上と外国の非戦闘地域に限られる。後者の場合、関係国の許可が必要だ。

    特措法は、紛争国への自衛隊派兵を認めた画期的なものだが、海外での武力行使を禁じている憲法違反の可能性がある。人道支援目的の陸上自衛隊サマワ（イラク）派遣を定めた特措法も違憲の疑いがある。

    現在インド洋では、自衛隊の補給艦4隻が、護衛艦2〜4隻に護られ米英独、ニュージーランドなどの艦船に給油を行っている。民主党議員によれば、イラク空爆に参加中の米空母キティホークへの補給艦に自衛隊補給艦が給油した疑いがあるというが、政府はこれに納得のいく回答を示していない。

    小泉首相は、一時自衛隊艦船のインド洋からの撤退を考えたが、米ブッシュ政権と良好な関係を維持するため、特措法の再延長を決定したという。総選挙での自民党の圧勝を受けて首相は、法改正は国会で容易に成立すると考えているのではないか。 政府は、12月に期限を迎えるサマワへの陸自派遣期限も延長すると予想される。

    テロを軍事的手段のみで抑止することは不可能だ。日本は、テロの社会経済的原因を除去する国際協力を国連の指導の下で推進すべきだ。