What’s next for Japan’s defence after scrapping US Aegis Ashore system?
- Tokyo’s tracking of a foreign submarine has focused attention on its security plans after it announced the scrapping of a US-developed anti-missile system
- Factors the country is weighing up include the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and Washington’s commitment to its regional allies
The Ministry of Defence has not confirmed the nationality of the submarine, which was travelling west when it traversed the contiguous zone immediately outside the 12-nautical-mile limit of Japan’s territorial waters around Amami-Oshima island. The vessel did not enter Japanese waters, and a destroyer and patrol aircraft were dispatched to track its movements.
Garren Mulloy, professor of international relations at Daito Bunka University, said the fact that the submarine was detected operating in waters close to Japan was not entirely surprising – but Tokyo’s decision to announce its presence was more noteworthy.
“Japan has not said who was operating the vessel, but the strong suspicion is that it was Chinese,” he said. “It was not doing anything out of the ordinary and was exercising what is known as innocent right of passage.”
Chinese submarines were obliged to traverse the shallow and relatively narrow channels between the chain of islands made up by Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines if they were to operate in the deeper and safer waters of the Pacific, Mulloy said.
“So they are trying to do that without being picked up,” he said. “Although Tokyo announcing that they have been detected is a double-edged sword.”
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