International Disaster Relief Activities: Japan's Efforts and Issues on Multilateral Cooperation Major General Kazuya HAYASHI Vice President National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS), Japan 1 I Overview of the JSDF's International Disaster Relief Activities 1. Natural disaster relief activity is one of the important mission for the Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF) since it was established. The JSDF conducts a variety of activities when disaster relief dispatches are required, including search and rescue for accident victims and ships or aircraft in distress, flood control, medical treatment, epidemic prevention, water supply, and transportation of personnel and goods. Japanese people have high expectation and show increasing support on JSDF's disaster relief activities, and it is beneficial for regional counterparts to share Japan's experience. 2. The JSDF is determined to step up international disaster relief operations, as a part of international peace cooperation activities aiming at increasing humanitarian*contributions and improving the international security environment. Its activities are based upon the Japan Disaster Relief Team Law revised in 1992, and the past operations are shown on the table below: Duration Nov-Dec 1998 Sep-Nov 1999 Feb 2001 Dec 2003-Jan 2004 Dec 2004-Jan 2005 Dec 2004-Jan 2005 Aug 2005 Oct-Dec 2005 May-Jun 2006 Disasters Hurricane in Honduras Earthquake in Northwestern Turkey Earthquake in India Earthquake in Southeastern Iran Tsunami in Thailand Earthquake and Tsunami in Sumatra, Indonesia Submarine accident in Kamchatka, Russia Earthquake in Pakistan Earthquake in Yogyakarta, Indonesia Personnel dispatched 80 for medicine/105 for airlift 426 for sealift 16 for tech assistance/ 426 for airlift 31 for airlift 590 for S&R 22 for Joint liaison and coordination/ 228 for medicine and air transport/ 593 for sealift/ 82 for airlift 346 for S&R 147 for air transport/ 114 for airlift 50 for medicine/ 100 for assistance/ 34 for airlift 1 This summary of paper is presented at the 10th ARF Heads of Defense Universities/ Colleges/ Institutions Meeting, Kuala Lumpur, September 6, 2006. The views expressed in the paper and the presentation are of the author's own and does not necessarily represent those of the NIDS or the JDA. No quotation without prior permission from the author. 1
3. International disaster relief operations conducted by the JSDF may take different forms according to factors such as the scale of the disaster, the degree of damage, and the requests of the government of affected countries or international organizations. The JSDF's past record on domestic disaster relief operations indicates possible fields of cooperation to be extended by the JSDF overseas for disaster relief, among others: - medical service, such as first-aid medical treatment and epidemic prevention; - transport of goods, patients, and disaster relief personnel by helicopters; - ensuring water supplies using water-purifying devices; - transport of disaster relief personnel and equipment to the affected area by JSDF ships and planes. Regional Armies of the Ground Self Defense Force (GSDF) are assigned a stand-by duty on a six-month rotating basis to ensure that they can provide medical, transport and water-supply services in a self-sufficient manner anytime the need arises. The Maritime Self Defense Force (MSDF) and the Air Self Defense Force (ASDF) maintain readiness to have the Self Defense Fleet and the Air Support Command, respectively, transport the contingent for international disaster relief operations or their supplies. v 4. The National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG) formulated in 2004 call for Japan's subjective and proactive efforts for the peace and stability of the international community on Japan's own initiatives, rather than simply making 'contributions' with passive attitude, in order to consolidate the peace and security of Japan. To that end, international peace cooperation activities including disaster relief, which was regarded as 'miscellaneous' in the current SDF Law, have been redefined as one of the primary roles of the defense forces along with effective responses to the new threats and the diverse contingencies, on top of the preparedness against large-scale invasions. 5. In order to adequately undertake international peace cooperation activities, the NDPG requires fsdf to improve its Education andtraining systems, unit stand-by systems, and its transportation japaoility, by doing that the JSDF is to establish the foundation for rapid unit deployment and lustainable operations. Specifically, the JSDF plans: - to train officers who are to become key members in future international peace cooperation missions by providing necessary education. The GSDF plans to set up an International Activity Education Unit in March 2007 under its Central Readiness Group in order to support training for international peace cooperation activities and study relevant issues; - to reinforce significantly the stand-by arrangement for dispatch units on a rotating basis; - to improve defense equipment and outfits which are expected to contribute to international peace cooperation activities, including aircraft and vessels with larger, long-range transportation capability. The JSDF's joint operation system, under which the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff Office assists the 2
Defense Minister on military and other professional fronts in a unified manner, started at the end of March 2006. It helps JSDF undertake international peace cooperation activities more efficiently and effectively. II Issues on Multilateral Cooperation in International Disaster Relief 6. It can be assumed a common recognition that the military role is significant in immediate relief stage of disaster relief, given the characteristics of its self-supporting capacities, clearly defined chain of command, rapid mobilization capability and maneuverability. Based on this understanding, efficient and effective international response to a major natural disaster requires multilateral cooperation or coordination as well as individual assistance to the affected country. The earthquake in Sumatra and Indian Ocean tsunami in the end of 2004 marked an opportunity to think about a better multilateral cooperation among militaries in disaster relief, and vibrant discussions have been held since then. The following are some points of issues on disaster relief cooperation raised in the forums Japan sponsored or participated. 7. The NIDS annually holds the Asia Pacific Security Seminar (APSS), with participation of colonel-class officers in the Asia Pacific region. In the 12th seminar last year participants discussed on the multilateral military cooperation against new threat including disaster relief. They agreed, among others, the following point to be addressed: - armed forces had to cooperate with international organizations, local civil organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others. Civil-military coordination is crucial in sharing assets and capabilities; - coordination should be based upon the consent of the affected countries, and the early departure >f die foreign militaries is important; - networking the "centers of excellence" in disaster relief and post-conflict operations is needed; - elaborating Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for multilateral cooperation. 8. The Tokyo Defense Forum sponsored by Japan Defense Agency (JDA) invites defense policy makers in the Asia Pacific nations. Last year the forum and its subcommittee discussed on international cooperation during disaster relief. Several points were agreed, including: - the continuation of existing individual efforts, such as Cobra Gold, workshops by the US Pacific Command and Multinational Planning Augmentation Team (MPAT), exercises and workshops by Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and Multinational Cooperation Program in the Asia-Pacific (MCAP) by Japan, would be beneficial; - sovereignty of a state should be respected; 3
- importance of developing SOP; - establishing coordination centers; - information sharing by producing reference materials and database of assets and capabilities; - consistent update of related contact points; however, various opinions were expressed and no agreement was made on whom to take the lead of these activities. 9. In the 9th ARF Heads of Defense Universities/Colleges/Institutions Meeting (HDUCIM) in Hanoi, Lt.Col. Sakaguchi representing NIDS presented on the topic of the Role of the Armed Forces in Large Scale Natural Disaster Relief Operations. Other than the above mentioned points, he noted: - necessity for the international community to follow the Oslo Guidelines (Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil Defense Assets in Disaster Relief: Project DPR 213/3 MCDA) that defines several conditions for armed forces to enter and deploy in foreign countries; - necessity for each nation to establish a domestic SOP that defines conditions for foreign armed forces to enter and deploy in the disaster-stricken country, and to specify what activities they can do there; V - exchange of intelligence and multilateral training in peace-time to decrease mutual distrust and will foster a cooperative work atmosphere in the region. 10. In this year's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Mr. Seishiro Nukaga, Japanese Minister of State for Defense, also proposed the regional countries to develop strategies and procedures in advance to facilitate a fast response by armed forces in the face of disaster in the Asia Pacific region. 11. To summarize this part, for better cooperation in multilateral disaster relief there are several key issues to tackle with, such as; - forming pre-planed framework for rapid entry, deployment, and transit of the third countries' airspace by foreign troops in case of natural disaster, without breaching national sovereignty; - creating SOP and coordination center for multilateral cooperation; - encouraging multilateral trainings and exchanges; - enhancing cooperation with international organizations, civil authorities and NGOs. We may also need to encourage individual countries' or groups' voluntary initiatives on these activities in the region. In this regard, recent development including a conclusion of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response and its successful functioning in the event of Earthquake in Yogyakarta in May this year, and the annual Asian-Pacific Regional Earthquake Exercise, for this year sponsored by China and the UN, will bring a brighter vision for 4
future multilateral cooperation in the Asia Pacific. 12. Besides the military-to-military or nation-to-nation cooperation, the importance of the coordination with international organizations and NGOs will be more significant. In some countries, however, establishing relations between military and NGOs may face difficulties due to the social-political background. We the defense universities/colleges/institutions, with a unique characteristic of having two faces - military and academic institution - have a potential to bridge between civil and military, thus play the role for effective civil-military cooperation. Ill New challenges in NIDS education 13. The last part briefly mentions the NIDS effort to incorporate these new threats and challenges into our education and activities. The Regular Course, which is an annual ten-month programme for colonel-class JSDF officers, JDA and other ministry officials, foreign military officers and some private company people. The new curriculum NIDS introduced last year does not necessarily focus only on interriational disaster relief cooperation, but the 'new threats' including disaster relief and terrorism are one of the areas we put emphasis on. Actually the two modules out of 19 are dedicated to these new challenges like new forms of conflicts, peace enforcement, disaster relief, and civil-military cooperation (ClMIC). An excerpt from a syllabus is shown below as an example: t Title: Objective: Lectures: 5321 Globalism and Security in this module we consider new security challenges in multifaceted way in the view of globalism. Traditional security studies had been developed with a focus on military and defense issues of sovereign states. In the era of globalism, however, the focus has been widened to include terrorism, conflict and development, human security etc. These new trends in security studies are introduced and the theories are examined. 53211 Globalism and Security 53212 Terrorism and Security 53213 Human Security 53214 Media and War 53215 Globalism and Public Policy 53216 Economic Cost of Conflict Items: 1. Aspects of globalism 2. International conflicts and CIMIC 3.Security and humanitarian assistance 1. Nature of terrorism 2. Location of terrorism in security 3. Terrorism and globalization 1. Structure of civil society theory 2. National security and human security 3. Human security theory and Japan 1. Global war and journalism 2. Role of Media 3. Future of war and journalism 1. Globalism and issues of public policy 2. Financial/monetary policy as public goods 1. Historical change of war spending 2. Cost of Iraq War 5
53217 Conflict and International Development 53218 Exam 1. Globalism and source of conflict 2. Conflict and reconstruction development assistance 3. Issues on peace building and economic development 14. The Regular Course requires a dissertation at the end of the programme. About a quarter of topics chosen by the participants last year were related to the international peace cooperation activities. It is a clear contrast to several years ago when these topics were almost exceptional. Case studies on the new threats were also introduced in the programme. We have a lecture and scenario exercise on inter-ministerial coordination for emergency response, inviting the Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary for Security and Crisis Management as a guest speaker. For this decade, the programme regularly have attendance of JSDF medical officers, which has good emphasis on promoting shared understanding on international disaster relief activities and its significance in international security. Taking the Regular Course as just one example, the NIDS, through our educational programmes, is promoting common recognition of the new role of military and challenges ahead, among JSDF officers and other participants. 15. As well as educational function, NIDS is a think-tank for JDA/JSDF and one of the key player in defense exchanges. The APSS, as previously mentioned, is a multilateral forum of more than 20 countries in Asia Pacific region. Regular Course students attend as Japanese participants for better educational effects. APSS has intellectual interaction with the Tokyo Defense Forum held by JDA and both shares knowledge and information, and the outcome of the latter is reported to the related ARF Inter-sessional Meetings. Through APSS and several other international forums we sponsor, the NIDS shares common recognition on international disaster relief cooperation with our counterparts and among participants, and provide specific studies and suggestions to the parties concerned. 16. To end this part, some of the challenges NIDS faces concerning the new role of military, including disaster relief cooperation, are shown below: - in Japan the coordination and cooperation between JDA/JSDF and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which is a main actor of international humanitarian relief cooperation, and individual NGOs are just a very beginning (JSDF for the first time held an air transport coordination with NGOs in Pakistan Earthquake in 2005). To help close the gap, the NIDS plans to invite Ms. Sadako Ogata, the President of JICA and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a guest speaker for the next APSS coming this November; - enhancing dissemination of the outcome of NIDS studies and forums on disaster relief cooperation and frameworks for it so that we could contribute to policy makers' discussions in Japan 6
as well as in international cornmunities including ARF; - providing comprehensive and objective evaluation with comparison of other countries' cases and insight of international discussions, so that we could help JSDF's international peace cooperation activities more effective. In parallel with our curriculum change, the Joint Staff College of JSDF, another senior officers' educational institution, is also revising its programme recently. To respond recent trends and new challenges the military faces, the whole educational curriculum for JSDF officers are in the process of transformation, and the NIDS is ready to cope with it.