University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2011 Seapower and Japan's martime coalition building Daisuke Sekine University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Sekine, Daisuke, Seapower and Japan's martime coalition building, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong, 2011. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/3565 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact Manager Repository Services: [email protected]. SEAPOWER AND JAPAN’S MARITIME COALITION BUILDING A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from University of Wollongong by Daisuke Sekine, BA (Nihon), MA (Hull) Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) Faculty of Law University of Wollongong 2011 ABSTRACT Seapower can be an ambiguous concept, difficult to understand and research, because it is composed of a number of factors across specialized areas, which mutually affect each other. It is a difficult duty for governments, which need national support to weave the components of seapower into a national engine for the sake of developing seapower in defence of national interests. It can be said that alliance strategy can exert a strong influence on a state. In the Japan context, there are a lot of benefits and risks brought by an alliance. For sea powers, it may be no exaggeration to say that whether to contribute to maritime-oriented coalitions as a member nation seriously influences the fate of the nation. Each state is able to increase mutual trust thorough the operation of maritime coalitions. It would reduce the possibility of conflicts over maritime interests between member states and contribute to good order at sea. There are several external sources of instability for the Japanese islands from neighbouring countries. The location of Japan is on the frontline facing the rimland of the Eurasian Continent in which the great sea power and the great land power have to stand face to face. The United States, as the offshore balancer, has thus placed special emphasis on Japan and its geopolitical location. The security frameworks of maritime coalitions that Japan joins or even leads are effective tools in the fight against various threats to the Japanese islands and its sea lines of communication (SLOC). The Japanese government is currently forming maritime coalitions through the activities of its navy and the Japan Coast Guard (JCG), but a fact that Japan is unable to exercise the right to collective security and places legal limitations on its maritime forces’ operations are major stumbling blocks in efforts to establish and develop the firm bond of maritime coalitions. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Chris Rahman, of Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), for his advice, comments, suggestions and patience as my supervisor, as well as Professor Sam Bateman, a Professional Research Fellow in ANCORS. I have had the support and encouragement of Professor Martin Tsamenyi, the director of ANCORS. I also owe a special debt to Myree Mitchell, the mother of our centre, for great kindness. I am deeply grateful to Admirals of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Yōichi Hirama, Sumihiko Kawamura, Koichirō Kageyama, Akimoto Kazumine and Hideaki Kaneda for their insightful comments and suggestions. I would like to express my gratitude to Masashi Nishihara, President of Research Institute for Peace and Security, and Hiroyasu Akutsu, of National Institute for Defence Studies, for volunteering their time and their insights. Finally I would like to acknowledge the generous support from Masashi Okuyama, at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATION ............................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. iv LIST OF MAPS, FIGURES AND TABLES .................................................................... x ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Background .................................................................................................................... 1 Sea and Power ............................................................................................................ 1 Japan and the Sea ....................................................................................................... 3 Japan, Geopolitics and the Maritime Coalition .......................................................... 5 Alliance with Anglo-Saxons .................................................................................. 6 Japan and the Maritime Coalition in the Asia-Pacific Region ........................... 10 Research Questions...................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2 Seapower and Coalitions .............................................................................................. 17 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 17 Seapower ..................................................................................................................... 17 Definition of “Seapower” ......................................................................................... 17 Seapower’s Basic Structure ..................................................................................... 19 New Elements and Power Integration ..................................................................... 27 The Alliance Factor ..................................................................................................... 28 The Concept of Alliance .......................................................................................... 29 Maritime-led Coalitions against a Great Continental Power as a Traditional Threat .................................................................................................................................. 33 Rivalry between Sea Powers and Land Powers .................................................. 33 Seapower as a Watershed ................................................................................... 36 Continental Ally .................................................................................................. 37 Maritime Coalition-Building against Various Threats ............................................. 39 Ocean Space as Seeds of Strife ........................................................................... 39 Maritime Coalition Building ............................................................................... 41 The United States as the Leader of the Maritime Coalition ..................................... 44 The Leading Power of the Maritime Coalition ................................................... 44 The United States as the Greatest Sea Power...................................................... 46 The Road to Becoming the Supreme Sea Power ............................................. 48 Conditions for Supremacy ............................................................................... 49 The Aircraft Carrier and Power Projection Capability .................................. 51 U.S. National Interests and Concerns in the Asia-Pacific Region ...................... 53 National Interests ............................................................................................ 53 The Strategic Chokepoints .............................................................................. 53 Two Concerns ................................................................................................. 54 The United States and the Maritime Coalition .................................................... 56 The New Maritime Strategy ................................................................................ 58 Admiral Michael Mullen and the 1,000-Ship Navy ......................................... 59 v Hurdles to Overcome ...................................................................................... 61 Weaving the Elements and Factors of Seapower ..................................................... 62 Wylie’s General Theory for a Sea Power State .................................................. 62 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER 3 Seeds of Conflict around the Japanese Islands .......................................................... 66 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 66 The Rise of China and Growing Danger to Japan in the Maritime Arena .................. 66 China’s Strategic Culture ......................................................................................... 67 Chinese World Order .........................................................................................