日韓防衛相会談 安保協力の質を着実に高めよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 12, 2011)
Japan, S. Korea must boost security cooperation
日韓防衛相会談　安保協力の質を着実に高めよ（1月11日付・読売社説）

The time is ripe for Japan and South Korea to enhance the quality of their security cooperation, without confining it to the field of defense exchanges.
　日本と韓国の安全保障協力を、単なる防衛交流の域にとどめず、質的に強化する時である。

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and his South Korean counterpart Kim Kwan Jin agreed in their meeting Monday in Seoul that the two countries would work more closely, given a series of military provocations by North Korea and other destabilizing factors in the region. Kitazawa was the first Japanese defense minister in six years to visit South Korea.
　北沢防衛相がソウルで韓国の金寛鎮国防相と会談し、北朝鮮による一連の軍事的挑発などを踏まえて、日韓両国がより緊密に連携することで一致した。日本の防衛相の訪韓は６年ぶりだ。

Japan and South Korea share the strategic goal of ensuring peace and stability in East Asia and have the United States as a common ally. It will be important for the defense ministers of the two countries to more frequently visit each other and exchange opinions on security situations in the region so that shared concerns will be reflected in the defense policies of both countries.
　日韓両国は、東アジアの平和と安定という戦略的目標を共有し、米国を共通の同盟国としている。防衛相がもっと頻繁に相互訪問し、地域内の安保情勢について意見交換して、双方の防衛政策に反映させることが大切だ。

Practical mutual support

In the latest meeting, the ministers agreed to start discussions toward concluding an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) between the two countries. They also acknowledged the need to sign a General Security of Military Information Agreement, a pact to prevent leaks of defense information.
　今回の会談では、日韓の物品役務相互提供協定（ＡＣＳＡ）締結へ協議を始めることで合意した。軍事情報包括保護協定（ＧＳＯＭＩＡ）の必要性でも一致した。

An ACSA will entitle units of the two countries to reciprocal provision of supplies and services in joint exercises and U.N. peacekeeping operations. Japan has already reached such accords with the United States and Australia.
　ＡＣＳＡは、両国の部隊が共同訓練や国連平和維持活動（ＰＫＯ）などで物資やサービスの相互提供を可能にする協定だ。日本は既に米国、豪州と締結している。

In peacekeeping operations in earthquake-stricken Haiti last year, the Ground Self-Defense Force set up residential containers for the South Korean Army while the South Korean forces dug a well at the GSDF quarters.
　震災復興のハイチＰＫＯでは、昨年、陸上自衛隊が韓国軍の住居用コンテナを設置し、韓国軍は陸自の宿営地に井戸を掘った。

A conclusion of an ACSA will help strengthen cooperation between the two countries' defense forces, enabling them to provide food, water and fuel and transport goods for each other. The two countries should sign the accord as soon as possible.
　ＡＣＳＡが締結されれば、こうした協力にとどまらず、食料や水、燃料を融通したり、物資を輸送したりすることができる。早期の締結を目指すべきだろう。

On the other hand, the military information sharing agreement is a comprehensive pact on information protection and procedures on providing data to a third country when sharing confidential defense information. If Japan signs the accord with South Korea, it will be the third such agreement following those with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
　ＧＳＯＭＩＡは、防衛機密情報を共有する際の情報保全や第三国提供の手続きに関する包括的な取り決めだ。韓国と締結すれば、米国、北大西洋条約機構（ＮＡＴＯ）に次ぐものとなる。

Shared data and planning

Signing these pacts and increasing the sharing of information, such as intelligence on North Korea, would significantly benefit both Japan and South Korea.
　協定を結び、北朝鮮などの情報共有を拡大することは、日韓双方にとって極めて有益である。

Since the 1990s, the two countries have undertaken such defense exchanges as mutual visits by senior defense officers and shared group activities at lower levels. However, they have yet to draw up plans to prepare for contingencies or conduct joint exercises. This is because of reservations on the side of the South Korean government due to its people's deep-rooted allergy to the SDF, resulting from Japan's past colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
　日韓の防衛交流は１９９０年代以降、防衛幹部の相互訪問、部隊交流などが続くが、有事の計画策定や共同訓練は行われていない。日本の植民地支配に起因する韓国国民の自衛隊アレルギーが根強く、韓国政府が慎重なためだ。

However, the bilateral relationship has been improving since the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak's administration. Last year, the South Korean Army participated as observers in the Japan-U.S. joint exercise while the SDF did the same in the U.S.-South Korean exercise. Enhanced Japan-South Korean cooperation would solidify collaboration among the two countries plus the United States.
　だが、李明博政権発足後、日韓関係は改善している。昨年は、日米共同訓練に韓国軍が、米韓共同訓練に自衛隊がオブザーバー参加した。日韓協力の拡充は日米韓３か国の連携も強固にしよう。

The Japanese and South Korean governments are considering issuing a joint declaration on politics and security during Lee's scheduled visit to Japan later this year. We urge both governments to realize the plan.
　日韓両政府は、年内に李大統領が来日する際、政治、安全保障に関する共同宣言の発表を検討している。ぜひ実現すべきだ。

Another long-standing issue of contention is whether South Korea will allow the SDF to rescue Japanese nationals in the country in the event of contingencies on the Korean Peninsula. We urge the governments of the two countries to improve the environment for negotiations at an early date and begin substantial discussions.
　朝鮮半島有事の際、自衛隊による在韓邦人の救出を韓国が受け入れるかどうかも、長年の懸案だ。早期に協議の環境を整え、具体的な議論を進めたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 11, 2011)
（2011年1月11日01時26分 読売新聞）