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February 22, 2005
Pacific politics, Iraqi desert
When faced with charges of "unilateralism," supporters of the war in Iraq often counter with the fact that many countries comprise the "coalition of the willing," with forces currently serving in-country. While certainly true, the forces offered by many states amount to little more than token contributions, with the United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy, and Poland leading the way with the most substantial contigents. Over the past 24 months, furthermore, several countries have withdrawn their garrisons, most notably Spain last year. But back in March 2003, when a fair number of countries supported the invasion of Iraq in principle, only one country besides the United States and the United Kingdom supported it with troops: Australia. Now, with the Dutch on their way out, the Aussies have taken a somewhat unexpected step: they will send more troops to Iraq.
The 450 new troops will be in addition to Australia's current 800-odd troops serving in and around Iraq, and to be sure, Prime Minister John Howard's decision to deploy them faces serious questions from the opposition Labor Party back home. Fortunately for the new arrivals, they will be stationed in the relatively quiet southern sector of the country. And their primary charge? To protect other troops. To be sure, the "other troops" in question are no ordinary troops. They are members of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces, constitutionally-prohibited from using any more than a bare minimum of force, and then only in strictly-defined situations of self-defense. Performing humanitarian and construction duties primarily, their mere presense in Iraq is significant in the context of Japan's evolving foreign and defense policies, as discussed recently in this space. Some do, of course, suppose [free registration required to view] the Japanese presence in Iraq is more complicated than any mere obligation to its alliance with the United States.
Regardless, the deployment of additional Australian troops to Iraq to defend Japanese soldiers contains an intriguing sub-plot outside the realms of Iraq, the Islamic world, and U.S. foreign policy. It offers a unique insight into the relationship between Australia and Japan. Both countries have long been staunch allies of the United States and have been steadfast in their support of the Bush adminstration's "war on terror." But they are also each important actors in East Asia, who recently worked closely together to provide and coordinate tsunami relief in the Indian Ocean. They also represent the most important, firmly "Western" states in East Asia, defined in terms of free market economics and representative politics if not in terms of history and culture. And perhaps related to this fact, they each face very proximate, very populous neighbors -- Indonesia for Australia and China for Japan. As also discussed here previously, the strategic jockeying that these geopolitical realities represent and instigate is already well underway. If Junichiro Koizumi and John Howard can strengthen their respective positions at home by cooperating in the far-abroad (and by pleasing the United States in the process), so be it.
Meanwhile, back in Iraq, some have noted the peculiar irony of Australian soldiers watching over Japanese as the latter build roads and bridges in a wartime environment. While this particular World War II reference may fall short of outright relevance, it does make one realize that historical ironies need not be relevant in order to be profound. Times do, indeed, change.
Posted by Daniel Widome at 11:29 PM to Asia,
