PH hails Japan’s move to expand military role

DFA spokesman Charles Jose.  AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Japan’s move towards allowing “collective self-defense” was hailed by the Philippines as “a step in the right direction” in ensuring security challenges on the Asian region, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday.

“The Philippines welcomes the valuable contributions Japan has been making for global and regional peace and stability,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said in a press conference.

“We are confident that Japan will continue to play an important role in addressing our common security challenges. The Japanese Government has recognized the need for the international community to address such challenges, and the effort to clarify the constitutional basis for Japan’s role in this area is a step in the right direction,” he said.

The Japanese ruling coalition approved on Tuesday a reinterpretation of their constitution to allow its military to engage in “collective self-defense” for allies faced with attack.

Japan’s constitution since the end of World War II renounced warfare as a sovereign right and the Japanese military has been limited to the “Self-Defense Force” since the 1950s.

Maritime dispute between China and its neighbors, including Japan and the Philippines, has caused heightened tensions in the region.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III previously visited Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and expressed support for Japan saying it needs to be “empowered to assist others.”

“We believe that nations of goodwill can benefit only if the Japanese government is empowered to assist others and is allowed to come to the aid of those in need, especially in the area of collective self-defense,” Aquino said in a statement released June 24 after his talks with Abe.

“We therefore do not view with alarm any proposal to revisit the Japanese constitution if the Japanese people so desire, especially if this enhances Japan’s ability to address its international obligations and brings us closer to … our shared goals of peace, stability and mutual prosperity,” Aquino said.

China, however, criticized Japan saying its military expansion “is making the world more worried.”

“Japan has a history of making sneaky attacks, as it did in launching wars with China, Russia and the United States in the recent 100 years,” China’s state-run news agency Xinhua said in an commentary Wednesday.

“Now, Japan, with greater freedom to use military force, is making the world more worried,” it said.

China and Japan are locked in a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, which China claims as the Diaoyu Islands.

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