Page 2 of 2 'Axis of democracy' flexes its military
muscles By Hisane Masaki
intelligence-sharing and joint
military exercises for disaster relief and United
Nations peacekeeping operations.
Unlike
the Australia-US security treaty, the
Japan-Australia security pact does not commit
either party to defend the other. And Tokyo and
Canberra have stressed that their security pact is
not directed at China or any other country. Still,
Beijing may have been alarmed by the pact, seeing
it as another US-led attempt to
contain its rise.
Beijing views with deep suspicion the move
toward a stronger security alliance between Japan
and the US, especially since a peaceful settlement
to tensions in the Taiwan Strait was included in a
list of common strategic goals to be pursued by
Tokyo and Washington under the new security
arrangements.
There are also suspicions in
China that the real US motive for the sweeping
overhaul of its military's global posture might be
what some call the "soft containment" of its
rapidly ascending military and economic power. The
Bush administration publicly denies any intention
to contain China, and claims its policy is to
encourage China to be a "responsible stakeholder"
in the international system.
Since taking
office last September, Abe has advocated a more
assertive foreign policy and further strengthening
of the security alliance with the US. He has also
vowed to seek revisions of the postwar pacifist
constitution to allow the nation to play a greater
role in the international security arena,
especially in step with the US.
In a
thinly veiled snub to China, the Abe government
has also put particular emphasis on strengthening
ties with countries that share common values, such
as freedom, democracy, market economy, respect for
human rights and the rule of law.
These
include countries in Europe. Over New Year Abe
visited the headquarters of the 26-nation North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels to
pitch a greater international security role for
Japan. Abe's visit came in the wake of NATO's
decision last November to beef up cooperation with
Japan, Australia and other democratic non-member
countries to ensure global peace and stability,
especially in dealing with the threats of
terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction.
Abe has proposed a four-way
"strategic dialogue" between Japan, the US and
Australia plus India. Like China, neighboring
India is attracting global attention as a newly
rising Asian power, and is widely seen in Tokyo,
Washington and elsewhere as a potential
counterweight to China's growing clout in the
region. The Japan-Australia security pact is
therefore part of efforts to implement the
proposed four-way dialogue.
The
Japan-Australia document stipulates the
establishment of so-called "two-plus-two"
ministerial security talks comprising foreign and
defense ministers from the two countries, similar
to those each country already has with the US.
Japan, the US and Australia inaugurated a
three-way security dialogue of foreign ministers
in March last year. By establishing a
"two-plus-two" forum of their foreign and defense
ministers, Tokyo and Canberra want to strengthen
trilateral security cooperation among the three
nations.
Japan and Australia are active
participants in the US-led Proliferation Security
Initiative (PSI) aimed at preventing the smuggling
of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction,
missiles and parts, including those by North
Korea. The planned Japan-US-India military
exercise is also seen as part of efforts by Tokyo
and Washington to encourage Delhi to join the PSI.
Observers think it is possible for Japan, the US,
Australia and India to launch quadrilateral
defense exchanges in the near future.
Meanwhile, the US is also cozying up to India.
The US and India signed a controversial civilian
nuclear cooperation deal in March last year during
President George W Bush's visit. The agreement,
which has been ratified by Congress, gives India
access to US technology, even though New Delhi has
not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The deal represented a significant reversal in US
policy, which had restricted nuclear cooperation
since India's first nuclear test in 1974.
Also in 2005, the US and India signed a
10-year defense framework agreement that calls for
expanding bilateral security cooperation. Since
2002, the two countries have engaged in numerous
and combined military exercises.
Hisane Masaki is a Tokyo-based
journalist, commentator and scholar on
international politics and economy. Masaki's
e-mail address is yiu45535@nifty.com.
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