Rowan Callick, in the Australian 3 July 2009, where the title is “Rising Sun heats Tensions“
TENSIONS in East Asia are rising fast this week, even as the countries of the region keep trading and investing furiously with each other.Consequently, attention will be focused on the visit to Australia next week of Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. This follows his announcement on Tuesday night that, under the policy of “proactive contribution to peace”, legislation will be passed to allow Japanese armed forces to use weapons to support international partners under attack.
This move, long foreshadowed, has been supported broadly by Washington and Canberra. But it remains deeply controversial among Japan’s neighbours. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry responded in a statement: “When it comes to Japan’s security discussion, the Japanese government should dispel doubts and concerns stemming from history, abandon historical revisionism and behave properly in a bid to win confidence from its neighbouring countries.” Noh Kwang-il, a spokesman at the South Korean ministry, elaborated about the prospect that Japanese troops might join American forces on the Korean Peninsula: “The right to collective self-defence is not something that can be exercised indiscriminately in another country.” Continue reading
