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2011 November 2 - 8 [SDF]

Gov’t OKs SDF dispatch to South Sudan

The government on November 1 officially decided to send Ground Self-Defense Force engineers to South Sudan to take part in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

It plans to dispatch 200 GSDF engineers to the new nation’s capital Juba in January, who will be replaced by another 300 later next year.

In addition to the Ground and Maritime SDF units currently operating in Djibouti, nearly 900 SDF troops will be stationed in East Africa.

The GSDF engineers are expected to help build infrastructure in Juba. Some point out, however, that there is no need for armed troops to take part in infrastructure development in the capital and its surrounding areas because it has been carried out by private construction firms sent by foreign nations and organizations since the 2005 Sudanese Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

On the other hand, armed conflicts continue in the northern part of South Sudan. At a press conference on November 1, Defense Minister Ichikawa Yasuo, in response to a reporter who raised concerns about the ongoing violence, said, “It has nothing to do with the security conditions in areas in which the SDF will be operating.”

The government maintains that it is not changing the current standards set for the SDF overseas operations, which limit the troops’ use of weapons only for self-defense. However, Defense Minister Ichikawa said at the press conference that the cabinet is now “studying various aspects” regarding a relaxation of the restriction.

Democratic Party of Japan Policy Chief Maehara Seiji has repeatedly stated that the government needs to ease restrictions on the SDF’s use of weapons in overseas operations.

Imai Takaki, the Japan International Volunteer Center staff who had been working in South Sudan, said that what the international community needs to provide the newly-created nation is civilian assistance for human resource development to the new government to improve its ruling capability as well as agricultural technology for its citizens.

Although Japan has built friendly relations with both South and North Sudan, the SDF dispatch will possibly undermine the North’s trust in Japan, which will make it hard for Japan to play a role as a mediator between the two nations, Imai warned.