INTERVIEW: Ex-U.S. Official Calls for Collective Defense Pact in Indo-Pacific

Washington, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–It is necessary for Japan, the United States, Australia and the Philippines to conclude a “collective defense pact” to contain China and ensure regional peace and stability, Ely Ratner, former U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said in a recent interview with Jiji Press. Ratner, who served as assistant defense secretary in former U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, urged Japan to overcome constitutional issues in order to fully exercise the right to collective self-defense, which would be a premise of the proposed pact. Earlier this year, Ratner contributed to the U.S. journal Foreign Affairs an article calling for the realization of a “Pacific defense pact” among the four countries. In explaining his own arguments from the article during the interview, Ratner said that deterring China’s aggression is the most important national security priority for the United States. “Given the nature of the growing threat, it was going to require more integration between the United States and its allies to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts, and to evolve away from the United States just having bilateral alliances to a future in which U.S. allies could operate and act together,” he said. “We ought to consider building a collective defense pact in the Indo-Pacific.” In light of increasing opinions in the United States that the country needs to revise its approach to foreign engagement and leave more responsibilities to its allies based on reciprocity, Ratner said his proposal to make such a collective defense pact “is consistent with a demand in Washington for greater reciprocity and greater contributions from our allies and partners.” “I believe this proposal is viable,” he added. If Japan mulls joining the proposed collective defense pact stipulating mutual defense obligations among signatory nations, the largest constraint will be Article 9 of its Constitution, which bans the nation from using force for purposes other than self-defense. “I agree this would not to be easy,” Ratner said. Still, he said, “I think overcoming these challenges, in these difficulties, is really important, because the cost of inaction, the cost of not doing these things, from my perspective, is that we’re going to be far more likely to see conflict and instability if we don’t take these steps.” Also in the interview, the former assistant defense secretary said it is really important that as Japan increases defense spending, it does it with an eye toward “integration” with the U.S. military and that “the question of what kind of capabilities should Japan be investing in is drawn from a perspective of Japan’s potential roles and missions in alliance operations.” In Japan and South Korea, there are active conversations about the potential need for the capability to acquire nuclear weapons in a short period or that for indigenous nuclear capability, Ratner said. The proposed collective defense pact in the Indo-Pacific “would both ensure America’s long-term commitment to the region and also build greater sense of security among the partners,” he said. “That may be one way to insulate a potential cascade of nuclear proliferation in the region over the long term.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]