（社説）防衛白書 法制を急ぐ必要はない

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 22
EDITORIAL: Defense white paper shows that security legislation can wait
（社説）防衛白書　法制を急ぐ必要はない

Where, really, was the urgency to railroad national security bills through the Lower House in the absence of public support?
　国民の納得がえられないままで、安全保障関連法案の採決を強行する切迫性があったのか。

This was the question we had to ask anew upon reading the Defense Ministry's 2015 white paper, submitted to the Cabinet on July 21.
きのう閣議報告された１５年版の防衛白書を読むと、改めてそんな疑問を禁じえない。

The annual report serves to show the direction of Japan's defense policy for both domestic and overseas readerships. Predictably, this year's main topic was Japan's relations with China.
　防衛白書は、日本の防衛政策の方向性を内外に示す役割がある。多くのページを割いたのはやはり中国との関係だ。

With regard to the activities of Chinese government vessels in waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands, the white paper stated, "There is a trend toward routinization, and it is possible that rules such as guidelines on the operation of the vessels have been set in place." The report also noted that "larger vessels are coming into use."
　尖閣諸島周辺の中国公船の活動について、白書は「ルーチン（日常業務）化の傾向が見られる。運用要領などの基準が定まった可能性も考えられる」「公船は大型化が図られている」と分析した。

According to the Defense Ministry, Chinese government vessels are entering Japanese waters at regular intervals of three times a month--early in the month, mid-month and late in the month. The usual pattern is that two or three ships would arrive in the morning, and then leave after about two hours.
　防衛省によると、中国公船が日本領海に侵入する回数は毎月３回で、上旬、中旬、下旬に１回ずつ。２、３隻が午前中に入って約２時間で出ていくパターンになっているという。

This suggests that the ships could be under Beijing's control to some degree.
　だとすれば、中国当局の一定のコントロール下にあるとの見方もできる。

The Japan Coast Guard is responsible for dealing with Chinese government vessels in Japanese waters. Given that larger vessels are coming into use, discussions of a nonmilitary nature are called for, such as with respect to prioritized allocation of the defense budget to the Japan Coast Guard.
　中国公船への対応は海上保安庁が担っている。公船の大型化に対しても、海上保安庁への予算の重点配分など軍事だけでない議論が必要だ。

As for clarifying the division of roles between the Japan Coast Guard and the Maritime Self-Defense Force, a package of maritime policing bills, sponsored by opposition parties, warrants discussion. However, there has been little progress on this to date.
　海保と自衛隊との役割分担を明確にする点では、野党提出の領域警備法案の議論も大事だが、なお生煮えのままだ。

What the nation needs most is a crisis management policy to prevent accidental military encounters. It can be appreciated that Tokyo-Beijing talks are advancing on the early opening of a communication mechanism, such as a special hotline, between officials in the naval and air forces of the two nations. In addition, creating an environment where the leaders of the two nations can talk candidly to each other is vital to the establishment of peace and stability in the region.
　最も重要なのは、偶発的な軍事衝突を回避する危機管理策であり、「日中海空連絡メカニズム」の運用開始に向けて協議が進んでいることは評価できる。さらに首脳同士が率直に語り合える環境をつくることこそ、地域の平和と安定につながる。

While China's military expansion and aggressive maritime advancement cannot be overlooked, nothing can be resolved by just harping on about the perceived threat posed by China. Diplomatic efforts to ease the tensions are urgently needed.
　中国の軍事力の拡大や強引な海洋進出は見過ごせないが、脅威をあおるだけで解決はできない。緊張を下げる外交努力を急がねばならない。

Another major security-related challenge concerns extremist Islamic State militants and other international terrorist organizations. The white paper stated: "A situation has arisen that can never be considered irrelevant to Japan."
　もうひとつ、安全保障上の大きな課題は、過激派組織「イスラム国」（ＩＳ）をはじめとする国際テロへの対応だ。白書では「わが国も無縁とは決して言えない状況が起きている」と警戒感を示した。

But it is generally agreed that there are limits to the effectiveness of military action against acts of international terrorism that are not state sponsored. In this sense, there is no denying that the nation's proposed security legislation, which leans heavily toward the use of armed force, comes across as "behind the times."
　ただ、非国家の国際テロに対しては軍事力の限界を指摘する声が一般的である。軍事に偏った安保法案は「周回遅れ」の印象がぬぐえない。

Japan is in its element when it makes nonmilitary contributions such as measures to combat poverty and contagious diseases and providing education. Japan definitely needs to hold more realistic discussions on how best to make use of its "pacifist nation" brand that has been cultivated over the last 70 years since the end of World War II.
　貧困対策や感染症対策、教育支援などテロの根を断つ非軍事の貢献こそ日本にふさわしい。戦後７０年かけて培ってきた「平和国家日本」のブランドをどう生かしていくか、現実的な議論をもっと深める必要がある。

The defense white paper is read closely by China and other neighboring nations. We would like it to become more of a vehicle for conveying constructive messages that will foster greater mutual trust with each nation.
　防衛白書は中国をはじめ近隣諸国も注目している。白書の記述を通じて、各国と信頼醸成をはかる。そんな建設的な発信ができないものか。