PH hails Japan’s defense policy shift

From the Manila Standard Today (Jul 3): PH hails Japan’s defense policy shift

The Philippine government said on Wednesday that it welcomes the decision of Japan to end its ban on the so-called collective self-defense, saying it will redound to the country’s benefit.

“The basis for our support is to enable Japan to meet its international obligations and for that particular reason, we certainly support the idea of Japan revisiting their Constitution,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

“I think everyone who has a stake in regional stability would certainly support any action that would move towards promoting peace in the region. Clearly, our belief is that Japan by revisiting its Constitution enables it to meet its international obligations that is to - in the case of the South China Sea - to promote and to ensure peace and stability in the region,” he added.

But Lacierda acknowledged that the development will not immediately result in Japan fielding its powerful but low-profile military to the aid of the Philippines amid heightened tensions in the region over conflicting maritime claims.

“I think, we are looking into that (security) arrangements. We don’t have yet one because primarily of the limitations in the Japanese Constitution,” Lacierda said.

The Foreign Affairs Department also welcomed the new development, as it noted that “Japan will continue to play an important role in addressing our common security challenges.”

According to DFA spokesman Charles Jose, the Japanese government has recognized the need for the international community to address such challenges and the effort to clarify the constitutional basis for Japan’s role in this area is a step in the right direction,” he added.

Although some groups may have reservations on Japan’s defense policy shift, Jose said the government acknowledges Japan’s “valuable contributions” for global and regional peace and stability.

Jose’s statement came following a similar statement by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario who had said that he supports Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s move to reinterpret a US-drawn Constitution that would allow Japan to move from its Self-Defense Force to a “collective self-defense.”

Article 9 of Japan’s 1947 Constitution limited the use of force to defend Japan. It also stated that the Japanese people “forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation.”

The article was drafted to prevent a repeat of Japan’s invasion and violent occupation of wide swaths in Asia during the war.     

In Tokyo, Abe has likened the relaxation of strict rules on the country’s military to the seismic shift of the Meiji Restoration—a moment widely understood as the birth of the modern nation.

The conservative premier, who has long cherished a desire to beef up Japan’s armed forces, faced massive opposition from a population deeply wedded to the principle of pacifism.

Abe had sought in public to play down the shift, which he said was a necessary update to better protect Japan in a region dominated by an increasingly assertive China and worried by an erratic North Korea.

But talking to senior officials of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) he said “collective self-defence is as significant as the Meiji Restoration.”

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/07/03/ph-hails-japan-s-defense-policy-shift/