The ruling coalition has presented the opposition bloc with an outline of a new law to continue the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean. The new law, if enacted, will replace the current special law, which expires Nov. 1. Although similar to the current law, the new law would undermine civilian control of the Self-Defense Forces because it would not require Diet approval for starting a new operation.
Under the current law, the MSDF is refueling naval ships of the United States and other countries to support antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. The law, which was enacted in late October 2001 and remains in effect for two years, has been renewed three times.
The proposed new law would also remain in effect for two years and be renewable, but would limit the MSDF's activities to logistical support, such as providing oil and water. Although the government would present a report on the MSDF's activities to the Diet one year after the law goes into effect and issue such a report annually, the outline does not contain a provision requiring separate Diet approval to launch an operation under the new law.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.