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JAPAN TIMES Defense Agency to push for changes to SDF
law
The Defense Agency is planning to seek revision of the Self-Defense Forces Law to enable the Maritime Self-Defense Force to send ships to deal with conflicts in Japanese waters without waiting to obtain a request from the Japan Coast Guard, agency sources said Sunday. The move came after an unidentified ship was sunk last month in the East China Sea after being fired on by two coast guard patrol vessels. The agency plans to submit to the ordinary Diet session opening Jan. 21 a bill that would revise the SDF law. Criticism has been growing about how the situation was handled as it took MSDF ships 10 hours to reach the site. By the time the MSDF vessels arrived, the ship had already sunk. During the incident, the coast guard hesitated to ask the MSDF to send ships because it believed it could catch up with the unidentified ship, while the MSDF was concerned it would face criticism if it launched ships before it received a formal request from the coast guard, the sources said. The planned revision of the law would include a "standby order" for the MSDF, the sources said, which would authorize it to launch its ships at its own discretion so that it can respond immediately when unidentified ships are intruding into Japanese waters. The standby order would also allow the MSDF to better cooperate with the coast guard, especially when the coast guard is under attack. In the December 22 incident, the unidentified ship fired rockets at the patrol vessels, the sources said. Under the current regulations governing cooperation between the MSDF and the coast guard, the MSDF is required to wait until it receives a formal request for assistance from the coast guard before it can issue orders for launching defensive action on the seas. In 1999, the MSDF issued its first order since the SDF was established for taking defensive action. At that time, coast guard vessels failed to catch a suspected North Korean spy ship. The Japan Times: Jan. 14, 2002
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