Joining Trilateral Drill

Japanese Self-defense Force for the first time joined major military exercise by United States and Australia on Saturday. Needless to say, that new attempt was to counter an Asian giant advancing to Pacific Ocean. From the time of Meiji Restoration, Japan has been taking behavior of escaping Asia and entering the West. Caught between Western leader and Asian continental power, Japan chose joining the Western coalition. It will not stabilize power balance in Asia-Pacific region, anyhow.

The military drill Japan joined was “Talisman Sabre 2015,” which is a biennial combined training between U.S. and Australia forces. It is held in Fog Bay in Northern Territory of Australia this year. The training is “designed to train our respective military forces in planning and conducting Combined Task Force operations to improve the combat readiness and interoperability between our respective forces,” according to the webpage of U.S. Department of Defense. It reflects the closeness of the alliance in the Pacific.

For U.S. and Australia, the participation of Japan is preferable in terms of enhancing military technology. In the plan of replacing six obsolete submarines with twelve new ones, Australia hopes to obtain advanced stealth technology of Japan. While Ministry of Defense was reluctant to the cooperation with Australia, worrying about irregular transfer of technology, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged the ministry to take positive attitude in cooperation with Australia.

For Japan, joining the training means to sneak into the core of military operation, which Japan has long been yearning. In Iraq War, Japan sent its officers to the coalition headquarter of Central Command. But, they were appalled in the command, because they could not participated in the information link of the coalition. Embracing that traumatic alienation in CENTCOM, Japanese Self-defense Force has been believing that real alliance is to join secret community over important military information.

Enhancing military relationship with Australia is closely related to Abe’s political agenda of passing new security legislation, including constitutional reinterpretation for exercising collective self-defense right. Stronger alliance brings greater responsibility to each participant. To help Australia in a contingency, Abe would stress the need for flexible legislature for activities of Japanese Self-defense Force.

But it is not clear that Australia, as well as U.S., will be helpful in a contingency against China over Japan’s territory. Distant from conflicts in Northeast Asia and having vital economic relationship with China, Australia may consider whether joining war between Japan and China will promote its national interest. So, Japan is cooperating Australia with a negative choice, believing it to be an only option.