Text Fw: Japan's First Overseas Base Aims At Expanding Military Boundaries

* Text informed by Stop NATO on April 29, 2010

Xinhua News Agency
April 28, 2010
Japan's first overseas base aimed at expanding military boundaries
Yu Zhixiao

BEIJING: Japan is building its first overseas military base in Africa's Djibouti
on the Gulf of Aden in an attempt to probe what waters its military can legally
reach farthest, analysts say.

In the name of better combating notorious Somali pirates, Japan is busy setting
up a 40-million-U.S.-dollar military base, which is expected to be completed
early next year.

Currently, some 150 Japanese soldiers battling piracy are stationed in a U.S.
base in Djibouti, which is at the southern end of the Red Sea.

The Japanese authorities say some 2,000 Japanese vessels, accounting for 10
percent of the world total, sail through the Gulf of Aden each year. Some 90
percent of Japanese exports rely on the crucial sea lane, which has been overrun
by rampant piracy.

On occasion, Japanese vessels have been hijacked by pirates.

The Japanese base, undeniably, would add momentum to the country's anti-piracy
efforts in the region.

But observers say that by establishing the base, the Japanese government is also
exploring how far it can go in increasing its military clout in the world.

According to the Peace Constitution ratified in 1947 after World War II, Japan,
to abstain from waging war, couldn't have a standing army and its warships
couldn't operate overseas.

But in October 2001, soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Japanese
lawmakers approved the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law, which allowed the
dispatch of Japanese warships and soldiers overseas.

Moreover, in July 2009, Japanese lawmakers passed the Anti-Piracy Law, which
provided Japanese self-defense forces with more mobility to use military power.
It also stipulated that the Japanese prime minister could send troops overseas
to conduct "anti-piracy" operations without approval of the parliament.

The base in Djibouti is Japan's latest effort to increase its military influence
in the world, analysts say.

Many countries are watching closely, and hope the base can play a constructive
role in cracking down on Somali pirates and contribute to regional peace and
stability.
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