Why protecting the whaling fleet?
El col.laborador del CEEC, Àlex Calvo, fa una petita anàlisi de les implicacions geopolítiques del fet que la marina japonesa protegeixi la seva flota balenera.
The recent announcent by Japan that its Coast Guard personnel will be deployed aboard its whaling fleet operating in Antartic waters this winter is meant to avoid a repeat of last year's incidents in wich a string of clashes with ships belonging to a US-based environmentalist organization brought negative publicity to the country and even resulted in the sinking of one vessel. At the same time, the fleet's operators are suing the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and founder Paul Watson before an American court, in what could be described as a two-pronged preemptive attack against the organization.
At first sight, this may simply be seen as yet another battle in the lonh war between a Japanese whaling industry determined to survive, and global activists bent on mooring it forever. Sea Shepherd's leader has already proclaimed on its Facebook page that, "The Bob Barker, Steve Irwin and Brigitte Bardot and our three brave crews are ready for them at sea. Ous lawyers are ready for them in court."
Much has been written on the place of whale meat in Japanese culture. For some, this is another instance of global values clashing with local traditions.
However, there could be another side to it. As an island nation, sea lines of communication (SLOCs) are assential for Japan, they are literally its life line. Although Sea Shepherd is of course not rying to blockade the country, a failure by Tokyo to protect its whaling fleet may be seen as a sign of weakness and evidence of a lack of capabilities and resolve in the maritime security arena.
Although the Maritime Self-Defense Forces (MSDF) and the Japan Coast Guard together constitute one of the most powerfull navies in the Pacific Ocean, they have to contend with the gradual evolution of their Chinese counterpart into a blue water force. In addition, like any other seafaring country, Tokyo is concerned with the actions of non-state actors such as pirates.
Protecting the whaling fleet may be seen by some observers as a chance to practice, in cooperation with the commercial sector, skills wich may become useful in other kinds of missions, such as protecting merchantmen threatened by pirates. Although international law provides for a much harsher approach, governments have lately tended to focus on non-lethal force as a response to this centuries-old phenomenon.
Alex Calvo is a Professor of International Relations and International Law, European University in Barcelona.
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