Defense paper stresses U.S. military deterrence, concern over China+

TOKYO, Sept. 10 Kyodo -
The Defense Ministry highlighted in its annual white paper Friday the
importance of deterrence provided by the U.S. military forces in Japan and said
moving a major U.S. base out of Okinawa Prefecture would undermine the power to
inhibit a possible attack on Japan.
The Defense of Japan 2010 report also said Japan remains watchful of China's
military might, while restating a group of South Korean-controlled islets as an
integral part of its territory -- a view that elicited protest the same day
from Seoul.
The 488-page annual review comes at a sensitive time when Japan and China are
embroiled in a diplomatic row following the collisions Tuesday between a
Chinese fishing boat and two Japanese patrol boats near the disputed Senkaku
Islands in the East China Sea.
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa told reporters after having the report
approved at a Cabinet meeting that the role of the U.S. Marines in Okinawa
''remains indispensable'' in the wake of recent developments in China.
The need for deterrence of the U.S. forces is ''growing stronger...in view of
China's increasing military power and China's actions on the seas,'' Kitazawa
said.
The report, which reviewed defense-related developments in the year through
mid-August, marks the first defense white paper under the government led by the
Democratic Party of Japan, whose head in taking power in September last year,
Yukio Hatoyama, vowed to move the Marines' Futenma Air Station out of Okinawa
but resigned in June partly over the matter.
The report, whose English version will be released later, explained in length
the significance of Japan's bilateral security alliance with the United States,
which this year marks its 50th anniversary, and a Japan-U.S. accord in May to
relocate the Futenma base within Okinawa by 2014.
''Moving the heliport functions in Futenma out of Okinawa or Japan raises
concern that it would hurt the capability of the Marines, thus the government
decided that it has no other choice but to put the replacement facility in
Okinawa Prefecture,'' the report said.
The May accord still meets strong local opposition, but the report said the
government made such a decision in order to prioritize easing the burden on
Okinawa in light of the reality that the land occupied by Futenma will not be
returned if Tokyo does not provide a replacement facility.
The report also contained a diagram of the strategic importance of the Marines
in Okinawa, indicating Okinawa is a better geographic location for the Marines
to respond to emergencies in East Asia than Hawaii, Guam or the U.S. mainland.
On China, the report said, ''The lack of transparency in national defense
policies and developments of military power are a concern for the region and
the international community including our country, and we need to carefully
analyze it.''
A ministry official said that in addition to concern over the lack of
transparency about China's modernized military capabilities due to the unclear
breakdown of defense expenditures, this year's wording highlights Japan's
concern about the future of China's military power.
It also mentioned that China is pursuing the necessary research and development
to possess its own aircraft carrier, citing some signs of construction -- its
purchase of an unfinished aircraft carrier from Ukraine and construction on
land of a building that resembles an aircraft carrier.
As for the islets disputed with South Korea, the white paper, as it has in the
past, stated that the Takeshima islets are an integral part of Japanese
territory, prompting the South Korean foreign ministry to voice ''deep regret''
and call for the text to be retracted immediately. The islets are called the
Dokdo in Korean.
The report was released later than the initially scheduled July as Tokyo wanted
to avoid any action to provoke South Korean protests ahead of the Aug. 29
centenary of Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula.
Publicly, the Japanese government has said the defense report was delayed
because it wanted to add information about recent developments related to the
fatal sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in March, for which North
Korea is blamed while the North denies its involvement.
Regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the paper said Pyongyang's
nuclear programs and missile activities are an ''extremely destabilizing
factor'' for Northeast Asia and ''grave dangers'' to the security of Japan and
the world.
The white paper also devoted a new section on measures to protect the public
from cyber attacks in light of the impact of such assaults on vital
infrastructure such as military networks.
==Kyodo
2010-09-10 23:12:53


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