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Japan Hosts Multinational WMD Interdiction Exercise
Naval vessels and approximately 900 troops from the United States, France, Australia and Japan took part in a WMD interdiction exercise today in waters south of Tokyo, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 25). This morning a crew operating a U.S. ship simulated a transfer of mock chemical weapons to a Japanese vessel in Sagami Bay, AFP reported. Australian, French, Japanese and U.S. ships, assisted by five helicopter crews, then chased and intercepted the ships. Inspectors in chemical-proof suits searched and seized suspicious materials, AFP reported. The drill officially does not target a particular nation, according to Reuters. However, U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton, who observed the “Team Samurai” drill from aboard the Japanese coast guard vessel Izu, noted North Korea’s involvement in weapons proliferation. “North Korea is a serious proliferation problem. It’s the world’s foremost proliferator of ballistic missile technology,” he said (George Nishiyama, Reuters/Yahoo!News, Oct. 26). He added, however, that the exercise was not designed to provoke anyone, according to AFP. “Only people who have anything to worry about from the PSI are the proliferators,” he said. Pyongyang, however, said the exercise revealed “a U.S. strategy to militarily blockade and stifle” North Korea. “This is a serious infringement upon the sovereignty of the D.P.R.K. and an intolerable military provocation to it,” the official Korean Central News Agency announced yesterday. Australian Army Col. Mark Hoare, a participant in the exercises, said “this is not an exercise targeting any country.” “Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a big concern for the international community and Australia,” Hoare said. The “Team Samurai” drill was the 12th held under the auspices of the Proliferation Security Initiative and the first of its kind in Asia, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/Khaleej Times, Oct. 26). Meanwhile, China today said it did not join the exercises due to “reservations” about the U.S.-sponsored initiative, AFP reported. “The activities may entail military interception, so we have reservations about PSI,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said. “That’s why we don’t take part in this initiative.” (Agence France-Presse, Oct. 26).
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