Apr 16 12:10 PM US/EasternTOKYO, April 17 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada proposed starting consultations on a new Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security when he met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Tokyo in February, government sources said Thursday.
Such a declaration would be aimed at beefing up the bilateral alliance to cope with not just regional issues but those on a global scale, including terrorism, as well as to counter China, which is growing both economically and militarily, the sources said.
While Clinton withheld a response at the time, the Defense Ministry is hoping to announce the declaration in 2010, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the revised Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, the sources said.
Japanese defense policymakers apparently hope to make it a step toward eventually legislating a permanent law that would enable the government to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces on missions abroad anytime it wants.
To the consternation of many defense officials, a special, temporary law has had to be enacted each time the government tries to deploy the SDF abroad, such as to Iraq and on an antiterrorism refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
The new declaration is believed to aim at global-scale bilateral cooperation by mapping out the range of cooperation with the U.S. military that might be possible once a law is enacted to dispatch the SDF abroad more easily.
Specific issues may include new security threats such as terrorism and piracy, and a strategy on China that has in mind contingencies in the strait between China and Taiwan.
"We want to strengthen the cooperation between the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military and clarify the division of roles between the two in order to contribute to stability in Asia and cope with issues on the global scale," Hamada was quoted by the sources as telling Clinton during their talks Feb. 17.
The top U.S. diplomat responded by saying the alliance is important for peace and security in the region, avoiding making any clear response, the source said.
The lack of a U.S. response is believed to be tied to the uncertainty surrounding the government led by the Liberal Democratic Party, which may have to cede power to the opposition led by the Democratic Party of Japan depending on the outcome of the next parliamentary election to be held by the fall.
The topic is expected to be raised again in talks between Hamada and his U.S. counterpart, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, planned to be held at the Pentagon on May 1.
The original bilateral security declaration was signed in 1996 between then Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and then U.S. President Bill Clinton.
It expanded the scope of the Japan-U.S. alliance -- which had hitherto been configured for the Cold War era -- to one encompassing the entire Asia-Pacific region.
The document provided the basis for the 1997 New Guidelines for Japan- U.S. Defense Cooperation, which spelled out the responsibilities for each country in different circumstances, and eventually led to the enactment in 1999 of a law that has authorized the SDF to provide rear-area support to U.S. forces in contingencies around Japan.
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