ASIA-SECURITY: China the Key Denominator in U.S.-Japan Equation

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Apr 19 1996 (IPS) - Tokyo, having carefully carved out an enhanced role with the United States in the defence of Asian security, must now convince China — the perceived threat to regional instability — that Japan remains a friendly neighbour.

Already there are reports of “concern” in Beijing about the broadened support to be given by the Japanese military under the extended Security Alliance pact signed in Tokyo on Wednesday.

“The utmost caution must be used to prevent friction with our neighbours during reviews of security matters,” the “Mainichi Shinbun”, a leading Japanese daily said in its Friday edition.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Shen Guofang on Thursday advised Japan to proceed with “caution” in any expanded role for its Self Defence Forces, or risk causing alarm among regional neighbours.

Beijing might have responded tougher, according to regional Press editorials, but would rather not have attached too much importance to the three-day visit to the region by U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Moreover, the Taipei published ‘China Times’ suggested that Beijing may be choosing its moment of response which may come during Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s visit to China next week when the paper speculates that closer military ties between Moscow and Beijing will be announced.

Japan, like the rest of the industrialised world, is always looking for openings in the giant Chinese market, and will not want to rattle relations.

At the same time, in view of China’s recent sabre-rattling along the Taiwan Strait and the latent concern that Beijing may yet use military force to back up its territorial claims in the South China Sea, Tokyo sees the presence of the 47,000 U.S. troops on Japanese soil as necessary insurance.

Only on Thursday, China made clear that it has no intention of backing down on its territorial claims when it warned Vietnam to stop pursuing oil exploration contracts with foreign countries that “encroached on China’s sovereignty and maritime rights and interests”.

The reaction was to Hanoi recently awarding to U.S. company Conoco, the rights to explore for oil and gas in an area in the South China Sea about 300 kms from the Vietnamese coast.

“We maintain this contract is illegal, null and void,” a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry was quoted saying.

China and Vietnam have been the most aggressive among six claimants to the whole or part of the Spratlys, a set of 200 islets and reefs that are said to sit atop vast but as yet unproven reserves of oil gas.

The other claimants to the Spratlys, which also straddle vital sea-lanes used for transporting fuel and goods, are Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan. All claimants except Brunei occupy certain islets in the chain and station troops there.

Regional governments like Vietnam and the Philippines therefore welcomed this week’s news that the United States will keep its 100,000 troops in the region — nearly half of which are stationed in Japan.

“Japan is aware that only by supporting the United States can China’s military strength be contained in Asia,” explains Kazuhiko Ogawa, a defence analyst and advisor to the Japanese government.

Analysts note that cooperation between Tokyo and Beijing has steadily increased and say this is partly because Japan, unlike the United States, has opted to resolve any disputes quietly.

“Sino-American relations are at its lowest ebb right now. Against such a backdrop, Beijing wanted Japan to stand firm in the middle, but in China’s eyes the new security accord becomes a target of military cooperation against it,” explained Yasuo Onishi, a China watcher at the Institute of Developing Economies.

Under the extended Japan-United States Security Alliance, Tokyo will be able to offer support, such as food and equipment supplies, to U.S. troops engaged in battle in Asia.

Both Tokyo and Washington, anticipating Chinese reaction to the security pact, tried to play down the implications of the agreement by saying Japan’s enhanced military role was simply a reflection of Japan’s own interest in preserving stability in the region.

Clinton said the security arrangements were aimed at encouraging China’s “positive and constructive” role in the preservation of the region’s stability and prosperity in the region

And Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto went further by saying that the continued presence of U.S. troops on Japanese soil was in part aimed at preventing the recurrence of Japanese militarism that caused the Pacific War — an event that haunts Japanese relations with the regions more than 50 years later.

For the moment, it would appear that Beijing is willing to accept this argument. “It is our hope the two sides (Japan and the United States) would have a good relationship…so as to make joint efforts for peace and stability in the world,” said Shen.