美國正式與公開地提升了美日同盟，並以同意日本行使「集體自衛權」的方式，讓日本能與美國一起保衛台灣、南韓與菲律賓等國 (下)

美國正式與公開地提升了美日同盟，並以同意日本行使「集體自衛權」的方式，讓日本能與美國一起保衛台灣、南韓與菲律賓等國 (下)

三

安倍主張日本應該修憲，讓日本擁有「集體防衛權」，他在建軍與國防上的主張與政策得到美國國安事務界菁英的普遍肯定與支持，特別是美國的保守派，他在2013年得到Hudson Institute 的Herman Kahn獎的殊榮。

我們現在來讀安倍首相在Hudson Institute智庫的演說的部分內容，他的演說部分在說明日本為什麼必須修憲，以取得「集體防衛權」。


“Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Remarks”

Delivered at Hudson Institute’s 2013 Herman Kahn Luncheon
September 25, 2013

President Reagan received this award. So did Vice President Cheney, Secretaries Kissinger and Shultz, and the list goes on, and on.

And today, you have made me its first non-American awardee. I cannot thank you more. Thank you very much.

Herman Kahn predicted Japan's rise early in the 1960s. If he were still alive, and saw Japan today, what would he say? Would he say that the Japanese have again become like sunflowers, always looking toward the sun?

I do hope so.

Were Japan a small country, it would not have mattered much. But it is not. The Japanese economy is still larger than Germany and the UK combined.

----------I now have to deliver, with your investment, with your expertise, and with your commitment to the future of Japan, a country that will be like a city, shining upon a hill[使用美國的愛國者的語言], with free ports humming with commerce and creativity, .....to go on sounding Reaganesque [Hudson Institute的人士最愛聽的術語].

It is my belief that Japan and the U.S. together should lead the Indo-Pacific Century [美日一起領導印(度洋)太(平洋)世紀] to make it one that cherishes freedom, democracy, human rights, and rules-based order, with the TPP as its backbone. [高舉美國價值，宣示奉美國為龍頭]

Now, let me turn to the issues of national security. [日本的國家安全是演講的主題] The question is this. Is Japan up to its task in this world where threats see no borders?

Let me give you a picture. [安倍舉了兩個例子，來說明日本必須修憲]

First, at the site of a UN peace keeping operation. Japanese troops are operating alongside another military from a country X. Suddenly, the X force is under attack. They ask for help to the Japanese, stationed nearby. But, the Japanese troops cannot help. Because it is unconstitutional to do so under the current interpretation of the Japanese Constitution.

Take another example, this one on the high seas. The US aegis ships are deployed around Japan in cooperation with Japanese aegis ships against a potential missile launch. They are concentrating their capabilities on the missile defense, leaving themselves weaker to air-to-sea attacks. Now, all of a sudden, one of the US ships is attacked by an airplane. Again, the Japanese ships, no matter how capable, cannot help the US ship. Because to do so will constitute an act of collective defense[集體防衛], which is unconstitutional under the current interpretation of the Japanese Constitution.

Those are the questions, we are seriously considering how to address. [日本必須嚴肅地思考如何處理這兩個因為現行憲法產生的問題]

In this age, everything is connected. Nothing lies outside a network. Outer space has no borders. Chemical weapons transcend borders. My country cannot be the weak link in the chain.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am working hard to rebuild Japan’s economy, while at the same time, working hard to reinvent our national security structure.

For the first time ever, Japan will establish its National Security Council. For the first time ever, we will publish a national security strategy in which we will state what Japan is committed to, and what our aims are. Also, for the first time in eleven years, my government has increased its defense budget this year.

By how much, you may want to know. Before that, we have an immediate neighbor whose military expenditure [不指名地指出中國軍事支出的問題] is at least twice as large as Japan’s and second only to the US defense budget. The country has increased its military expenditures, hardly transparent, by more than 10 per cent, annually, for more than 20 years since 1989.

And then, my government has increased its defense budget only by zero point eight per cent.

So call me, if you want, a right-wing militarist. [由於具有擴張與侵略本質的中國的軍事支出不斷大幅成長，安倍也只有被迫增加日本的國防預算，他說他不怕他人把他抹黑成右翼軍國主義者。]

Now to sum up, Japan should not be the weak link in the regional and global security framework where the U.S. plays a leading role. [日本不能在美國扮演龍頭老大角色的區域與全球安全架構中，成為弱的一環。]

Japan is one of the world’s most mature democracies. Thus, we must be a net contributor to the provision of the world’s welfare and security. And we will. Japan will contribute to the peace and stability of the region and the world even more proactively than before. [日本是世界最成熟的民主政體之一，因此，必須為世界的福祉與安全、區域的和平與穩定做出貢獻。]

I am determined, ladies and gentlemen, to make my beloved country a “Proactive Contributor to Peace.” I am now aware, that my historical role should be to revitalize the nation and encourage the people to be more forthcoming, thereby leading them to become a proud bearer of the banner, the banner for a Proactive Contributor to Peace.

四

歐巴馬於上週開始他的亞洲四國之旅，4/23/2014 ，他抵達日本，進行國是訪問。這項訪問得到美國主流媒體極大的關注，並被大幅度的報導，但建州運動今天先要挑出「華爾街時報」的報導與評論，來向台灣與台美鄉親們進行介紹，下次再挑 「紐約時報」的Mark Landler所做的報導[Mark多年前曾前往台北訪問周威霖，他現在已貴為「紐約時報」的白宮特派員，此次隨歐巴馬出訪與採訪]來介紹。

“U.S. Assures Japan on Security Ties”
By Colleen McCain Nelson & Yuka Hayashi
The Wall Street Journal
4/25/2014

//On Thursday [4/24/2014], Mr. Obama praised Mr. Abe’s plans to change the interpretation of the nation’s pacifist constitution to allow Japan to exercise its right of “collective self-defense” and come to the rescue of an ally if it comes under enemy attack while operating near Japan.// [歐巴馬讚賞安倍要將日本的和平憲法的解釋加以改變的計劃，該項改變是為了要允許日本行使「集體自衛權」以及救援盟軍 ，倘若在日本附近的盟軍或採取軍事行動的盟軍遭受敵人的攻擊。註: 鄉親們讀完這一段，就會了解此事對台灣與台灣人有多重要。]

我們再來讀「華爾街日報」一篇很重要的社論:


“Obama Stands With Abe”
The Wall Street Journal
4/25/2014


Full marks to President Obama for removing any ambiguity about whether the U.S. is treaty-bound to defend Japan's Senkaku Islands against Chinese attack. "Our commitment to Japan's security is absolute and Article Five covers all territories under Japan's administration, including the Senkaku Islands," he told a press conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Thursday. [美國總統正式發言，明確地表示 ，在中國攻擊日本尖閣群島時 ，美國有加以保衛的條約義務。]

That helps undo the damage from a weak and uncoordinated U.S. response to China's imposition of an air defense zone over the islands last November. China's bellicose rhetoric and brinksmanship around the islands suggest that Beijing doesn't take the possibility of war with the U.S. seriously. Perhaps now it will. [中國過去針對尖閣群島問題所發表的好戰言論以及所採取的戰爭邊緣政策，顯示它並沒有對與美國會發生戰爭的可能性認真面對，或許它現在會。] Earlier this month, the U.S. military showed it can saber-rattle too. Marine General John Wissler expressed confidence that his forces in Japan could quickly retake the Senkakus if China invaded. It's clear the general wasn't free-lancing. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel gave a somewhat more nuanced but equally tough warning in Beijing the same week. That threw the Chinese Foreign Ministry and its mouthpieces into a rage. [在這個月稍早前，美國軍方顯示了它也能做出軍事威脅，美國海軍陸戰隊第三遠征軍指揮官兼駐日美軍海軍陸戰隊司令John Wissler中將做了不尋常的發言，他對他麾下的部隊在中國入侵尖閣群島後能迅速奪回一事，表示信心，現在已證明他不是自己隨興發言，在同一星期，美國國防部長也在北京發出了類似的嚴厲警告，這些警告都讓北京七竅生煙。]

Less noticed so far is a comment Mr. Obama made to Japan's Yomiuri newspaper this week: "I commend Prime Minister Abe for his efforts to strengthen Japan's defense forces and to deepen the coordination between our militaries, including by reviewing existing limits on the exercise of collective self-defense." This puts the U.S. on record as supporting Mr. Abe's coming reinterpretation of the constitution to allow Japanese forces to defend allies. The change will attract opposition from pacifists at home, including Mr. Abe's coalition partners. [較少讓人注意的是，歐巴馬在他訪日時對「讀賣新聞」所說的另一段話: 我歡迎安倍首相要強化日本武裝部隊以及強化美日兩軍合作的努力，包括重新審視目前對「集體自衛」的行使所被加上的限制，這段談話是美國支持安倍即將進行的憲法再解釋的正式訊號，以便讓日本能保衛盟國。]

Mr. Obama's comments also rebut wishful thinking in China's state media that the U.S. fears re-emerging Japanese militarism. In Beijing's view, Mr. Abe is alarming Asian neighbors who suffered under the Imperial Army in World War II.

China's leaders may believe the anti-Japanese propaganda the Communist Party spouts to justify its rule. But the image of Mr. Obama standing shoulder to shoulder with Mr. Abe should convince them it won't play abroad. The U.S. and others recognize the contributions Japan has made to the peace and prosperity of the region since the war. Japan can do even more by becoming a normal nation that contributes its military share to the democratic alliances that deter the rise of new tyrannies. [中國一直在宣傳日本右派的軍國主義復甦，以便讓東亞各國反對日本建軍，也好讓中國的帝國主義及擴張主義無人可以制衡或反制，現在歐巴馬與安倍肩並肩地攜手合作，顯示北京那套幼稚的宣傳根本發揮不了作用。美國與其他國家承認，日本在終戰後對東亞地區的和平與繁榮所做出的貢獻，它們也認為，日本在成為正常國家後，能為東亞地區做出更多貢獻，亦即日本能在民主同盟的軍事領域分攤更多責任，以遏制一些新的專制獨裁政體的竄起。註: 許多台灣人與台美人也持此觀點，建州運動當然就更不用說了。]

It's true that Mr. Abe and other politicians alienate would-be friends with their visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, where war criminals are honored along with other war dead. U.S. officials rebuke this practice by paying their respects at the national cemetery instead. But those who continue to hang a portrait on the Tiananmen Gate of Mao Zedong, the greatest mass murderer of the 20th century, could be more circumspect.

A Chinese spokesman this week referred to the U.S.-Japan alliance as a relic of the Cold War. A few years ago he might have had a point, as the difficulty of relocating Marine bases on Okinawa showed. But Beijing's desire to return to the days when neighboring countries paid tribute to the emperor has brought the alliance to the fore again. Presidential visits are mostly about symbolism, and Mr. Obama's trip sent the needed message of solidarity with a democratic ally. [在歐巴馬訪日這一週，中國一名政府發言人把美日同盟說成是「冷戰的遺緒」，在若干年前，他說的也許還說得過去，但是北京這幾年展現「它想回到過去那種周邊小國對它朝貢的舊時代的大夢」已經再度讓過去的反共或反中同盟復活，歐巴馬訪問東亞數國最多可說僅具形式或象徵意義，但它卻傳達一項極被需要的「美國與民主盟邦團結」的訊息。註: 老共最喜歡把「冷戰的遺緒」這種語言掛在嘴邊，從不嫌累，它以為這樣說，美國與它在東亞的盟國就會自縛手腳，自行繳械，任令它惡搞，任令它成為bully。]


台灣建州運動發起人周威霖
David C. Chou
Founder, Formosa Statehood Movement
(an organization devoted in current stage to making Taiwan a territorial commonwealth of the United States)