Korea, U.S. differ over Japan’s military role

Japan’s exercising of its right to collective self-defense would help boost the U.S. deterrence against threats such as North Korea’s nuclear program and contribute to regional stability, a ranking U.S. official said Wednesday.

The Shinzo Abe administration is seeking to reinterpret the country’s pacifist constitution to expand its Self Defense Forces operations as part of apparent efforts to normalize the state.

But the move has fueled concerns in Seoul and Beijing, where resentment still runs deep over Tokyo’s invasions and colonial and wartime atrocities of the early 20th century.

Collective self-defense is an indigenous right of every sovereign state, and the U.S. “welcomes” Japan’s efforts to “normalize” its role and contribute to regional stability, a senior official at the Department of Defense told visiting South Korean reporters in Washington.

If Japan opts to alter its interpretation of the constitution with regard to the collective self-defense right, it would help contribute more to peace and stability and reinforce the U.S. deterrence in the region including against North Korean threats, the official added.

The official’s remarks reaffirmed Washington’s support for Japan’s greater military role, highlighted at the so-called 2+2 meeting in Tokyo in October of U.S. Secretary State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and their Japanese counterparts, Fumio Kishida and Itsunori Onodera, respectively.

Washington is deemed to be highly supportive of the Japanese initiative as it faces a rising China, persistent economic woes and budget constraints.

For South Korea, however, it creates a dilemma due chiefly to political and public resistance at home despite its potentially positive implications, such as greater peacekeeping activities and greater support for U.S. military assets in the region.

Seoul has been cautious about taking a position but has called for transparency, saying Japan should approach the issue “in a way that clears neighbors’ doubt and concerns stemming from history and contributes to peace and stability in the region.”

“We’re actively explaining to the U.S. and other neighbors our position toward Japan’s strengthening of its defense capabilities including the right to collective self-defense while not repenting of past wrongdoings,” Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told the National Assembly on Wednesday.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)