New Japanese Security Bill complicates regional security environment, says Beijing

BEIJING - A controversial new security bill in Japan that will allow Japan’s military to take part in non-UN peacekeeping missions – the Bill has the backing of nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and right-wingers in the US Congress – will “increase opportunities for war in Asia”, according to some commentators.

The Bill’s supporters say that “restrictive clauses preventing Japan from having a fully-fledged military serve as a straightjacket that stops Tokyo protecting its citizens, allies and friends” but the move has led some diplomats in Beijing to question whether Japan is “going to give up its exclusively defence-oriented policy”.

China’s Defence Ministry said the new Bill “will complicate the regional security environment”, while Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Tokyo must “respect the major security concerns of its Asian neighbours”.

Supporters of the Bill voted alone yesterday after the Opposition walked out, and the Bill is now expected to be passed in the Upper Chamber, where PM Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its Coalition partner control the majority. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).