Newsletter No. 1323
News-Analysis
March 20, 2009

 

THE YOMIURI SHINBUN TAKES ON SOMALI PIRACY

The following is a three-part series on the Somalia anti-piracy mission that has just been published from the 18th to today in the Yomiuri Shinbun. I have hoped that we might have our own Shingetsu debate about the Somalia issue, but since I seem to be shadow boxing again I might as well present perspectives different from my own from other sources…

TAKING ON PIRACY
Yomiuri Shinbun
March 18-20, 2009

Antipiracy Mission Shows Constraints Facing SDF

"Warning shots by a machine gun should be fired at the surface of the water about 50 meters in front of a pirate vessel." So reads one restriction on the use of weapons that applies to the two destroyers dispatched by the Maritime Self-Defense Force to waters off Somalia. If a suspected pirate vessel approaches a Japanese merchant ship, the MSDF destroyers have been told to contact the vessel and advise it to change course immediately or else armed force will be used. However, any warning shots are to be fired within the confines of the above guidelines.

The MSDF recently conducted shooting practice in waters around Japan. During the exercise, a volley was fired from 12.7mm machine guns mounted on a destroyer at a target about 500 meters away. Tracer bullets left red streaks of light that confirmed their trajectory. But moments later the streaks were seen hitting the crests of waves and ricocheting in every direction. After watching video footage of the exercise, a senior MSDF officer explained: "Any shots we fire will ricochet dramatically after hitting the water's surface. So we have to be aware of what will happen if we fire any warnings."

Two MSDF destroyers -- Samidare and Sazanami -- left Kure Port on Sunday for the waters off Somalia. They will conduct warning shot exercises on the high seas almost every day before they arrive in the Gulf of Aden.

About 20,000 vessels travel annually through the Gulf of Aden off Somalia, including about 2,000 ships owned or operated by Japanese shipping companies. Last year, four Japan-connected ships were seized by pirates.

The MSDF mission is to protect Japan-connected ships using the two destroyers and their onboard helicopters. But the mission is only authorized to engage in maritime policing activities in line with the Self-Defense Forces Law, meaning the destroyers can fire warning shots in the course of their mission, but are not allowed to harm others except in legitimate self-defense, such as when a hostile party opens fire. The plan to fire a warning shot no closer than 50 meters from suspected pirate vessels was seen as the best way of conforming to these guidelines. The senior MSDF officer said shooting at such close range likely would be effective in deterring piracy but added, "Given the likelihood that bullets fired as warning shots will ricochet, there's a high possibility that close-range shooting will lead to injury or even death."

Pirates off Somalia are armed with rifles, machine guns and even rocket launchers with a range of more than two kilometers. But unlike other countries' militaries that are dealing with the pirate threat based on the rules of engagement laid out in line with international law, the MSDF has restraints on its use of armed force. This could prove advantageous for pirates.

The government's dispatch of MSDF vessels to join international antipiracy efforts comes five months after it announced it would study such a plan. The government's belated decision likely was prompted by China's launch of its own antipiracy measures.

The seas off Somalia are 12,000 kilometers from Japan, yet the MSDF mission will be expected to apply the same rules to tackling well-armed pirates as it uses when patrolling waters around Japan. Meanwhile, the ruling coalition has neglected efforts to make the necessary legislative arrangements to promote SDF international peacekeeping activities, even though they were defined two years ago as an essential part of the SDF's work. As a result, it is the SDF personnel sent overseas to participate in peace missions who are the ultimate victims of inaction.

SDF Now Acting 'Directly' in Service of National Interests

Chill winds were blowing around the Maritime Self-Defense Force base in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Saturday, when a ceremony took place to mark the departure of two MSDF destroyers on the nation's antipiracy mission off Somalia. At the ceremony, Prime Minister Taro Aso gave words of encouragement to the MSDF and Japan Coast Guard members taking part in the mission, saying with a smile on his face, "We're proud of all of you as you set sail with a strong resolve to face up to our country's challenge."

The dispatch of the MSDF vessels to deal with the threat posed by Somali pirates has aspects that are fundamentally different from activities Self-Defense Forces have so far undertaken abroad. One is that the SDF, in engaging in the antipiracy mission, are shifting their role away from conventional logistic support in international activities -- "rear-area support" -- to "frontline" operations abroad.

The SDF have a long list of accomplishments in overseas activities, such as their contribution to the U.N.-sponsored peacekeeping operations in Cambodia and various other areas, as well as logistic support activities for U.S.-led multilateral activities for the reconstruction of Iraq. The SDF peacekeeping operations in the Golan Heights and the MSDF's refueling mission based on the new Antiterrorism Law for multilateral forces in the Indian Ocean are ongoing. The U.N.-sanctioned peacekeeping activities the SDF have taken part in and their operations in Iraq purportedly have been conducted in the service of humanitarian assistance, in the main. The refueling operations in the Indian Ocean were carried out to extend rear-area support for troops from the United States and other countries fighting terrorism.

The duties the two MSDF destroyers are supposed to fulfill to protect vessels linked to Japan from acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia, by contrast, involve the possibility of the destroyers facing off against pirates armed with heavy weapons. It is still fresh in our memory that the British Royal Navy and the Indian Navy have exchanged fire with Somali pirates, giving them no quarter. It is quite possible that MSDF members on the antipiracy mission will end up fighting gun battles, too.

The MSDF's antipiracy activities also differ from conventional SDF operations overseas in terms of the national interests involved. The conventional types of SDF activity abroad have been premised on the assumption that the activities -- if they help stabilize the areas to which SDF members are sent -- will indirectly benefit Japan's national interests. The task of ensuring the safety of Japanese-flagged and Japanese-linked shipping by protecting those vessels from pirates, however, is of vital significance to the future of Japan and is directly connected to this country's national interests.

Adm. Takashi Saito, chief of staff of the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff Office, has noted that the MSDF antipiracy mission "is undoubtedly of extremely high importance from the viewpoint of securing Japan's future as a seafaring nation." In addition, the MSDF's antipiracy activities represent the expansion of the sphere of SDF operations to the field of "policing" actions, which have increasingly been drawing attention in recent years in the international community as a new initiative for enhancing global security.

Deriving from the noun "police," the term "policing" signifies in this context police activities being undertaken by a military organization. The idea is to make use of a country's military -- which by nature is primarily tasked with defending the country from its enemies -- to maintain international order and thus create a stable security environment. This idea is applicable not only to the fight against terrorists and the goal of preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but also to activities to help the reconstruction of war-torn countries as well as peacekeeping operations. More than a dozen countries have deployed naval vessels to waters around the Horn of Africa on antipiracy maritime policing missions. As a senior official of Japan's Defense Ministry put it, "Many other countries have begun to allocate more of their military might than ever before to policing activities."

"Japan's defense policy has so far strongly tended to center around peacekeeping operations," he pointed out, adding, "The result is that the task of clearly defining the significance of the SDF's policing activities has gone unheeded."

In this regard, it is noteworthy that the government will revise toward the end of the year the National Defense Program Guidelines, which set forth the basic principles of Japan's security policy. One of the top priorities in working out a new NDPG will certainly involve what roles the SDF should play in a way conducive to ensuring the peace and stability of the international community.

Political leaders' powers of imagination and ability to get things done are being tested at this juncture.

Military Power, Diplomacy Essential to Antipiracy Mission

On March 10, pirates fired on a Panamanian-registered cargo ship that is managed by a company affiliated with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, or NYK Line. Though the vessel managed to escape from the pirates, its captain was shot and injured.

If the Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers that are now heading for waters off Somalia, based on the maritime policing provision in the Self-Defense Forces Law, had already been on duty in the area, the pirates might have thought twice about launching the attack. On the same day, in Tokyo, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved the submission to the Diet of an antipiracy bill.

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and others made the bill's submission a precondition for sending the MSDF destroyers to the Gulf of Aden, to make clear their position that the dispatch based on the maritime policing provision was a stopgap measure. As a result, however, the MSDF dispatch was delayed.

"I wonder why it took so much time," Prime Minister Taro Aso reportedly complained to former Defense Agency Director General Gen Nakatani.

Nearly five months had passed since the prime minister expressed his intention to consider antipiracy measures in response to a question by Akihisa Nagashima, a House of Representatives member of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, in the Diet. So far, NYK Line has asked not only U.S. forces, but also Chinese and Greek forces to guard vessels related to the company.

NYK Line welcomed the MSDF dispatch. "It's quite significant that the ships will be protected by those from the same country," said Hiroshi Sekine, NYK's managing corporate officer.

The international community also welcomed the move despite the delay. The United States described Japan's participation as a "good news" at a U.N. meeting held in January on antipiracy operations off Somalia. The United States and other countries obviously welcomed the MSDF participation because it will reduce burdens on their own forces. But there are other reasons why the dispatch was appreciated.

Dokkyo University Prof. Isami Takeda, an expert in international politics, pointed out that there is another angle to Japan's participation in the antipiracy mission. "Narcotics produced in Afghanistan are brought via Pakistan to Somalia, and the Taliban and other [terrorist] groups are using these proceeds to fund their activities. If countries deploy more warships in waters off Somalia, it'll make smugglers' activities more difficult," he said.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government is set to boost its aid to African countries, believing it will be difficult to eradicate pirates unless Somalia, which is in anarchy, is reconstructed as a state. In an effort to help Yemen and other countries in the area enhance their maritime security capabilities, the Japanese government is considering giving training to officials in charge and providing patrol boats to those countries. The MSDF's presence and Japan's diplomatic activities in Africa will contribute to the fight against terrorism in some aspects.

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, which attaches importance to antiterrorism operations in Afghanistan, has high expectations for the role Japan will be able to play in this respect.

Both military force and diplomatic power are essential when it comes to tackling pirates. Under the maritime policing provision, however, MSDF vessels cannot guard vessels unconnected to Japan. Nagashima and former DPJ President Seiji Maehara have expressed their support for the antipiracy bill, which is designed to enable Self-Defense Forces personnel to protect ships from other countries. However, opinions need to be coordinated among various parties concerned from now on, and it remains uncertain when the bill will be passed through the Diet.

Considering the importance of Japan making international contributions congruent with its national strength, politicians should make every effort to pass the antipiracy legislation.