An Analysis On The Security Consultative Mechanism Of The U.S.-Japan Alliance

This paper is trying to discuss about the security consultative mechanism of the U.S.-Japan alliance from a historical perspective. The security consultative mechanism of the US.-Japan alliance is just the object of research. Since the establishment, security consultation mechanism has played an extremely important role in the operation of the alliance. However, it had not been well known around the world, for the contents of the talks are highly classified to the outside. This paper tries to explain the historical evolution and historical effect of this mechanism through the last declassified historical archives, to present the constitutive elements and its main function. The whole article includes three parts: introduction, text and conclusion. Introduction:Introduction expounds the significance, the status and the deficiency of this study, and clarified the application of the research methods.The body of this text is divided into four chapters.The first chapter analyze the main reasons of the establishment of the security consultative mechanism : Through the institutionalized mechanism, U.S.-Japan government's mutual communication and understanding has been promoted, the mutual trust and the exchange of information in the security fields has been strengthened, the dissatisfaction of small country with the policy of the big country has been averted , and the misreading and misjudgment of internal security problems among the alliance has been avoided as well , so that the U.S.-Japan alliance has been strengthened, and the national interests of the U.S.A. and Japan has been maximized .The second chapter comprehensive illustrates the historical evolution of the security consultative mechanism, which experimented four major periods: the initial establishment in the 1960s, the development and soundness in the 1970s, the stagnation in the 1980s, and the recovery in the 1990s. Since the San Francisco Treaty has been in operation, Japan had gained the sovereignty and independence, the United States had been unable to deliver orders to Japan. It requires the establishment of a new type of bilateral relations, the establishment of a system to maintain bilateral contacts and consultations at such a critical moment. Through this consultative mechanism, the Americans could make sure that the Japanese would obey their orders, without a sense of being oppressed. Japan needs to consult with the United States for obtaining sufficient information and ensuring timely understanding of the current international security situation from the American perspectives as much as possible. With the need to adapt to the new security situation, both the leaders of Japan and the United States had decided to strengthen the communication between their governments. They had established the U.S.–Japan security committee as the first official inter-governmental consultative body. Since then, this committee has become the rudiment of the security consultative mechanism.To meet the needs of U.S.-Japan alliance development, the two sides had established Security Consultative Committee (SCC) in 1967, and established Security Consultative Subcommittee (SSC). After entering the fast-lane, the mechanism had established a large number of subsidiary committees, such as Subcommittee for Defense Cooperation (SDC) in 1976, Systems and Technology Forum (S&TF) in 1984. But throughout the 1980s, the most important security forum----- Security Consultative Committee had never been convened after its 18th meeting in 1981.The mechanism came to a halt. When it went into the 1990s, the first ministerial meeting of the Security Consultative Committee was held in Washington, on March 11th, 1994. From then on , the security consultation mechanism had been recovered.Chapter 3 comprehensively analyzes the system of the mechanism,. the agency of U.S.-Japan security alliance security consultative mechanism has been established by strict legal basis, The establishment of a broadly following three sources of law: (1). the fourth and the sixth term of 1960 " U.S.-Japan Security Treaty";(2)U.S.-Japanese government official agreements;(3)"Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee" (SCC) meeting resolution. Its form is extremely sophisticated and flexible. In the long-term operation, it has formed its own principles; (1) Emergency principle; (2) Equal and partnership principle; (3) Regular principle.Chapter 4 analyzes the effect of the security consultation mechanism, demonstrates that the mechanism had played an important historical role in the operation. Through the negotiations of two sides, Japan and the United States had contained China and the Soviet in the Far East, had strengthened the defense cooperation, and had reached a convergence of views. Before 1972, the Japan-U.S. security consultative consultations specifically aimed at China and the Soviet Union. The United States believes that the differences between the Soviet Union and China are same to the 'free world'. China is still a "real threat." In Asian mainland .But after the normalization of Sino-American relations, China had not been a real enemy of the U.S.-Japan alliance. The Soviet Union was in a strong trend of expansion, so it became the main target of the mechanism. After the end of the Cold War, Russia's national strength has greatly declined; China is on the rise again, so China became the main objective of the U.S.-Japan security consultative mechanism. After the establishment of the U.S.– Japan alliance, the United States would defend Japan in the Far East to take part of military responsibilities. Japan's military force was very weak in a recovery phases, so the United States must provide guidance and assistance to the Japanese military. The United States and Japan has been made use of the consultative mechanism to enhance mutual defense cooperation. Through the two sides had resolved several vital problems and had carried on some military cooperation, such as the Japanese army building, American military aid.In the conclusion of this paper, it is points out that the U.S.–Japan security consultative mechanism is mature and effective. Since its birth, the administrative departments and the military departments of the two countries had attached great importance to it .The mechanism in the security field has played an important role in the communication and consultation, and has become an indispensable component of the U.S.-Japan alliance.