Viet Nam Human Rights
Japan changes policy to support foreign troops
30/10/14
The
Japanese government is considering to amend a policy which provide official
development assistance (ODA). Accordingly, Japan can support non-military
sectors to developing countries.
On
October 23, the Japanese government notified that they have compiled a draft to
the new foreign aid, allowing use of its ODA to support foreign military forces
in non-combat operations, including disaster relief operations and coast guard.
The new charter will be renamed “Charter of development and cooperation”.
This is
the first time after 11 years, Japan
has revised ODA policy. In the first revision since 2003, the draft Charter ODA
will support lifting the ban on foreign military forces by such treasury which
raises concerns that such aid can be used for military purposes. The draft
amendment calls for Japan
“to contribute to peace and prosperity through non-military cooperation” and
stresses that the implementation of “a society of peace and security” and
“sharing the cost of common values”.
In the
draft submitted to the Foreign Relations Committee of the Liberal Democratic
Party on October 23, the policy of providing ODA also added a goal is to “contribute
to ensuring national interests”. Current policies of providing ODA only aims at
“contributing to peace and development of the international community”.
Related
to supporting foreign military forces, the Japanese government will consider
each particular case, as well as recognize the need to extend capital support.
In particular, Japan
will maintain its ODA policy which does not extend to foreign troops by strict
observance of statutory construction to avoid using aid to international
conflicts.
Current Japan’s
ODA policy is banned to aid for projects related to the military in any way
whatsoever. Accordingly, the ODA was not used to finance the provision of
military equipment for non-military purposes as well as foreign military
personnel trained in both disaster recovery. Therefore, the revised regulations
will be a significant step forward in the national security policy of Japan.
The
government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to amend the charter to allocate
more than $10 billion of annual ODA to assist developing countries and reflect
the changing international scene now. Up to now, ODA is mainly used in the
construction of infrastructure and the alleviation of poverty in the country to
receive funding through loans, grants and technical cooperation.
In March,
the Asahi Newspaper once said that the government of Prime Minister Abe was
trying to amend the Charters of ODA program to pave the way for military aid to
foreign countries. The Japanese government believes these changes are
necessary for ODA “to play an important role” in promoting
defense. “To promote universal values such as freedom, democracy and human
rights, the ODA will play a role in the areas related to security”, Deputy
Foreign Minister X. Kihara said to the Asahi Newspaper on March 31 in the first
meeting of the expert group to review the ODA charter of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Japan.
As known
since coming to power, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has referred to experiences
for development of salvage operations between defense forces and the US military after the storm Haiyan in Philippines,
focused on a situation which is the role of the military in non-military areas
such as disaster relief, and disaster mitigation.
In 2012,
the Japanese Ministry of Defense began providing technical support non-combat
without the use of ODA for the Department of Defense and Military in several
countries in Southeast Asia. However, in
recent times, in response to seeing the expanded diplomatic presence and
efforts by Beijing
who offers aid to developing countries, the Japanese government has sought to
use a part of ODA to promote security initiatives. National Security Strategy
for Japan, which was
approved by Cabinet in last December, stipulates: “The strategic use of ODA
capital of Japan
must implement through proactive and aggressive contribution to peace”.
This
modified scheme also emphasizes the strengthening of links with private
companies in Japan
to effectively implement ODA projects. As expected, the proposal would amend
ODA policy by the government of Japan
through this year.
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