Worries about the New US-Japan Defense Cooperation Agreement and the Acceleration of Japan’s Rearmament

Although the new U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation Agreement is a bilateral agreement, it will have a major influence on the security landscape of all Northeast Asian countries. Particularly because South Korea and China are within this sphere of influence and are watching with extraordinary attention, there is no way they cannot respond. On April 27, amendments were revealed that showed the formation of the joint status of U.S. forces and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, or SDF. Also, under the pretext of supporting U.S. troops, the scope of operations for Japan’s SDF was expanded to the entire world. In addition to combined operations in cyberspace and outer space, an “Island Defense” provision was included implying the Senkaku Islands.

From South Korea’s viewpoint, the following three aspects merit particular attention. First, Japan’s defense capability is growing rapidly. This is a double-edged sword. The response capability to an issue on the Korean peninsula will help serve as a stronger deterrent for a nuclear North Korea. However, there are plenty of darker issues as well. These revisions were made to increase Japan’s power to help the United States contain China. Along with this acceleration of the inevitable rearmament of Japan, China could be spurred and accelerated into an arms race in the Korean peninsula region. In light of recent historical disparities between the countries, South Korea and Japan have no choice but to act.

Secondly, the chances for an emergency intervention by the SDF on the Korean Peninsula will grow. Although the new guidelines for the Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation clearly assert the “respect for the sovereignty of third countries,” the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command has controversially declared that the SDF’s operation could expand beyond its current limits into the Korean theater of operations. No matter what kinds of declarations are made, South Korea would find rearmament of the SDF a hard pill to swallow. If this issue is not resolved clearly, an unexpected problem could be created. Third, in the case of an armed conflict over Dokdo, Japan’s treaty includes territorial provisions while the ROK-U.S. defense treaty does not. South Korea must also arrange an “Island Provision” with the United States and work to prevent clashes over issues with the U.S.-Japan guidelines.

According to the United States, South Korea has no cause for concern because the armament of Japan will rely on the alliance structure with the United States. However, for the sake of our nation’s security, we cannot be unprepared for potential dangers and risks. At this point, the most important safety value needed to address our security concerns is to further solidify the ROK-U.S. Alliance.