A Perspective from Japan

Why the U.S. Wants Japan to Do the Refueling

 

Cultural News, October 2007

 

By Motoaki Kamiura, Military Analyst

Translated by Alan Gleason

 

    When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suddenly announced his resignation on September 12, the reason he gave was his inability to secure the extension of the special anti-terrorism law that authorizes refueling operations by Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) in the Indian Ocean.

 

   That same day, the Japanese refueling ship Tokiwa provided oil to a Pakistan Navy destroyer in the northern Arabian Sea. It was the 778th such refueling operation by the MSDF.

 

   The MSDF began refueling ships belonging to the multinational forces engaged in anti-terrorism operations in the Indian Ocean in December 2001, shortly after the start of the war in Afghanistan. The avowed purpose of these operations is to prevent Al Qaeda and other terrorists from leaving Afghanistan or bringing weapons and ammunition into the country.

 

    Then-prime minister Junichiro Koizumi pledged Japan’s support for the American war effort in Afghanistan, promising to dispatch transport ships to supply fuel to forces in the region and destroyers to escort them. The “special anti-terrorism law” was passed specifically to authorize this mission.

 

   The third extension of the law will expire on November 1 this year. In order to continue the MSDF’s refueling mission, Japan’s Parliament must approve a fourth extension by then.

 

   However, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered a huge setback in the Upper House elections this past July, losing control of the Upper House to the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa has asserted his opposition to extending the anti-terrorism law, arguing that the U.S. started the Afghan War unilaterally, without seeking authorization by the United Nations. Ozawa’s position is that Japan’s Self-Defense Forces cannot be deployed overseas without the sanction of the U.N. Security Council.

 

   Allegations have also been made that the refueling operations in the Indian Ocean are being used not only for anti-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan, but for the Iraq War. However, Japan’s Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry, citing the need for military secrecy, have refused to provide Parliament with specific information about the refueling activities.

 

   Meanwhile, the U.S. has its own reasons for wanting Japan to continue its refueling mission, the primary one being the participation of the Pakistan Navy in the multinational coalition. If Pakistani ships were to receive their fuel directly from U.S. Navy supply vessels, it would exacerbate the anti-American sentiments that already run high in Pakistan, putting the precarious regime of General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s pro-American president, at even greater risk. Therefore the U.S. urgently wants Japan to continue to function as its refueling proxy.

 

   In the turmoil following Abe’s resignation, extension of the anti-terrorism law has become increasingly unlikely. Come November, the MSDF may well be forced to withdraw from the Indian Ocean.

 

   Whether or not Japan’s refueling mission resumes or not will then depend on the outcome of debate in Parliament under the new Prime Minister.

 

Motoaki Kamiura is a Tokyo-based military analyst. When the world is in crisis, he appears frequently on national television programs.

 

    Alan Gleason is an editor, writer, and Japanese-English translator. He lives in Tokyo.