Somali Pirates

I often watch CNN and the BBC for news, and recently an item that comes up frequently is the increased piracy off the coast of Somalia -- ships are often hijacked, either for the goods or for a ransom for the crew. It has gotten so bad, several nations have decided to send armed ships there to patrol. The US, Canada, Britain, France, Spain, Greece, even India, Iran and China are involved. It has gotten so bad the UN said it's ok for nations to pursue the pirates onto land if need be.

I think this is an intriguing situation for Japan: so many of its good pass thru the area, perhaps all of its oil as well, and the trouble is occurring mostly in international waters, not inside the borders of a sovereign nation. So the question for Japan: can or should or will Japan send its own navy to help patrol the area.

I posed the question to several friends and students recently but got blank stares. No one was aware of the trouble. They heard that a few weeks ago a big tanker was captured, I think it was Japan registered, so it made the news. But the imp@ression seems to be that it was an isolated incident that is over.

That means the only person proposing the question is me. But still I think it's interesting: Can Japan send armed vessels to help patrol international waters. It's not an act of war, it's helping keep order, but it also involves Japanese military going abroad.

I was really just playing Devil's advocate. I knew what everyone would say. The general response was what people usually say: No, Japan loves peace, war is bad, we can't get involved. An admirable thought, but often said without much reflection. people tend to blurt it out and then kind of shut down, refusing to discuss matters further.

Anyway, the feeling is that it is not immoral for other countries to protect commercial vessels in the area (no one said anyone has a responsibility to, just that if they want to they can) but someone else should do it because Japan likes peace. Mentions were made too that Japan's self defense force was forced upon the population, shouldn't exist, and the discussion is moot.

Japan can't go because it's bad. But someone should go. It would be a good thing to do. But Japan can't get involved because Japan doesn't like such bad things, that are ok to do if someone else does them. So it is good and bad. But bottom line is Japan won't/ can't/ shouldn't get involved. It's a convoluted line of logic sometimes.

I'm not advocating for Japan to go. Just wanted to get people to think about the situation and maybe see the way other countries might view their action or inaction.