21 navies support ban on radar-lock
The Yomiuri ShimbunThe Maritime Self-Defense Force has joined 20 other navies, including those of the United States, China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in agreeing to a naval code of conduct that bans weaponry radar-locking on military ships of other countries, government sources said Monday.
The Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea is expected to be adopted at the Western Pacific Naval Symposium opening in Qingdao on Tuesday. The move is expected to serve as the first step in preventing accidental clashes in open waters at a time when China is intensifying pressure on neighboring countries over the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture and the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
Held every two years with a rotating host country, the symposium discusses confidence-building and other measures. From the MSDF, Chief of Staff Katsutoshi Kawano and other officials will attend the symposium, which will run through Thursday.
The code will include rules that require radio communication when navy ships and helicopters encounter each other on or above the sea, as well as prohibiting the directing of missiles or torpedoes and locking weaponry radar, which is conducted prior to an attack on enemy vessels. It was decided at a preparatory meeting in January to adopt the code at the symposium, the sources said.
Such a code of conduct was proposed by Australia more than 10 years ago, but it was not adopted in the face of opposition from China, which claimed such a code would be legally binding. Participating countries later confirmed the rules would not be legally binding, and China accepted the compromise.
In January last year, a Chinese frigate locked its radar on an MSDF destroyer in the East China Sea, prompting the Japanese government to lodge a protest, saying the action was tantamount to an actual attack on the ship. However, there is currently no agreement between the two nations to prevent such conduct.
Japan has been calling on China to establish a communications mechanism in the sea so they can contact each other in case of emergencies, but little progress has been made in negotiations with China, which shows little interest.
The code, which will be adopted by China and many nations, may well serve as an effective means to avoid contingencies. In the past, nonbinding accords forged among some countries have developed into international treaties. The case in point is the convention on prohibiting antipersonnel land mines.
“It is significant for men in uniform to share what is regarded a common sense of the world,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said. “If they accumulate achievements like this one, they could lead to an international common law and then to a legally binding accord.”
China has repeatedly clashed with the Philippines and Vietnam over the sovereignty of the Spratly Islands and other islands in the South China Sea. The sea, which provides important lanes to transport crude oil, sets the stage for confrontation between China and the United States, which champions the freedom of navigation.
No code of conduct has been established in the sea zone because of China’s resistance. “This code will lead to easing of tension in the South China Sea as it will be adopted by ASEAN members,” said Yasuhiro Takeda, a National Defense Academy professor specializing in international politics.
No comments:
Post a Comment