Date: 1982-03-09
Speaker: WON PAT (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank my colleague. Mr. Speaker. I rise to join my colleagues here today in urging that our good ally. Japan. take a greater role in the defense of the Pacific. My good friend. Congressman RALPH REGULA. iS to be congratulated for reserving this time so that we can publicly discuss our growing concern over this vital issue. The problem is really not quite Ps simple as it may seem. but this Nation can no longer afford to supporteither financially or physicallythe legitimate defense needs of Japan and other Asian nations. We have done this since the end of World War II without complaint. But times are changing and so much the level of this Nations contributions to the defense of this area against Communist threats. Let me call your attention to an excellent article written recently by Senator JOHN GLENN. who provides a most convincing argument for an increased level of defense spending by Japan. Senator GLENN does point out that Japan is already making a vital contribution to its defense via support for its own forces and for ours in Japan. My colleagues and I. on the House Armed Services Committee. fully recognize the key role Japan has played in this area in the past. But. our relations with Japan have reached a crossroad. We cannot continue putting so much of our limited financial resources of this Nation into a defense situation which clearly serves Japan as much as it does our own interests. This year. the Government of Japan has announced an $11.7 billion defense budget. While Japanese officials assert that this amount reflects their good intentions. President Reagan and countless others. including myself. believe that this amount is insufficient to counter the vastly increased Soviet buildup in the Pacific. Only last week I talked at length about Pacific defense issues with a man who is one of the Nations leading experts. Adm. Thomas Hayward. Chief of Naval Operations. Admiral Hayward said that he shared my concern about the need for a stronger defense by free nations in the Pacific. The United States is too deeply involved with our defense concerns in other parts of the world to do the job we should be doing in the Pacific. Our concern over the need for our allies to accept a greater burden of our common defense is not new. President Nixon in 1969. as part of his famous Guam doctrine. called on U.S. allies to help more in this area. So did Presidents Ford and Carter. but to little avail. Let me make it clear that I am not saying that Japan should triple its defense spending overnight. Hardly. But it has the financial means. and I be. lieve. the public concern at home to take steps toward building a much more effective defense force which could prevent a Soviet force from quickly dominating the Sea of Japan. This Is certainly to Japans Interest and I believe that a strong Japan can Drove to be an effective deterrent to Soviet expansionism. The failure of Japan to provide for its own defense will clearly send the Soviet Union and other hostile powers a signal that they can operate with impunity in waters that are the domain of other nations. The Pacific is a vast ocean. We do not attempt to patrol the Atlantic alone. Why should we attempt to do the same with the Pacific. Frankly. I am deeply worried about the lack of adequate U.S. military naval forces in the Western Pacific. We on Guam. and in other American areas in the Trust Territory. are particularly undefended. We do not have a naval force or an Air Force capable of patrolling the entire Trust Territory area. Aside from a meager Coast Guard presence. there is nothing to stop Soviet submarines from landing on these islands at will. and. in fact. this was rumored to have happened only several years ago. The Soviets understand strength and resolve. We must strengthen our forces in the Pacific while our allies must also recognize that they too. must increase their own efforts on defense spending. It would be nice to live in a world where defense spending could be the smallest item in our budgets. But reality dictates otherwise. and I urge Japan to recognize that the time has come for it to accept responsibility for its own defense requirements. This is as it should be with friends. and I would welcome a dialog with Japanese officials on this issue. Thank you.