Nakatani Proposed New Security Concept for Asia-Pacific

Minister of Defense, Gen Nakatani, gave a speech to the defense leaders of Asia-Pacific nations in a regional security forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore on May 31st. In his remarks, Nakatani proposed a new security concept in which nations with shared values and interests unite to create powerful synergies through cooperative efforts. Raising some names of countries or organizations for like-minded framework, Nakatani expressed his concern on advance of major power in the region, China. 

Nakatani raised three points that was undermining international order. They were erosion of rule-based order, disregard for accountability and irresponsibility against international public good. He raised Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and disregard of Arbitral Tribunal’s award indicating China’s maritime advance to the South China Sea. He called the countries to be united “not to allow the erosion of the rule-based order, but to restore it; not to ignore accountability, but to uphold it; not to undermine the international public good, but to advance it.”

 

China did not send its defense minister to the dialogue this year. Nakatani stressed Japan’s effort to enhance its network with like-minded countries in the region. He referred to importance of ASEAN’s security role in the region, presence of Japan-U.S. alliance for peace and prosperity, defense cooperation among Japan, U.S. and the Philippines, and excessive dependence on nations that do not share values. He also mentioned interregional cooperation including NATO, saying “Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions is inseparable.”

 

Nakatani named his concept for regional stability OCEAN, One Cooperative Effort Among Nations. He explained about his visit to Indonesia, the Philippines and India earlier this year. Nakatani committed further support and collaboration with ASEAN through existing frameworks such as the Japan-ASEAN Ministerial Initiative for Enhanced Defense Cooperation (JASMINE). He added security efforts of quadrilateral framework by Japan, the U.S., India and Australia.

 

Nakatani’s proposal of leading rule-based network in the region was aligned with security strategy of the United States. U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, addressed in the dialogue that the U.S. would stand with any country that is willing to step up and preserve the global and regional peace, touching with China’s development for building military capacity for invading Taiwan by 2027.

 

It was remarkable that Hegseth required further efforts to allied nations. Quoting the pledge of NATO members to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense, Hegseth represented European nations’ skepticism on Asian allies spending less on defense in the face of more formidable threat such as North Korea. It is unclear whether Japan is ready to accept the request of the U.S. to spend more to defense.

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