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アフガン支援策 「小切手外交」に戻るのか

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Nov. 11, 2009)
Is govt returning to 'checkbook diplomacy'?
アフガン支援策 「小切手外交」に戻るのか(11月11日付・読売社説)

The administration led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has drawn up measures to help reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
鳩山政権が取り組むアフガニスタン支援策がまとまった。

The administration has decided to extend civilian assistance worth 5 billion dollars (about 450 billion yen) over five years for such measures as job training for former Taliban militants and the provision of funds to pay the salaries of Afghan police officers. Calculated in terms of the aid provided per fiscal year, this sum represents about four times the average aid provided up until now.
 元タリバン兵士に対する職業訓練や警察官の給与肩代わりなど、5年間で50億ドル(約4500億円)の民生支援を実施する。従来の支援額と比べ、単年度平均で約4倍となる。

However, the government stopped short of including the sending of Self-Defense Forces personnel in its measures.
The government is also planning to suspend the SDF's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in January, when the law authorizing the mission expires.
 自衛隊による人的貢献策は盛り込まれなかった。政府は、来年1月に期限切れとなるインド洋での給油活動も中止する方針だ。

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No body bags please

Without SDF participation in antiterrorism activities related to Afghanistan, the government will inevitably face criticism that the country has once again resorted to the so-called checkbook diplomacy approach, in which it provides economic aid and investment but no security personnel.
自衛隊のアフガン支援がなくなれば、「小切手外交」に逆戻り、との批判は免れそうにない。

Hatoyama is expected to explain the details of the aid program to U.S. President Barack Obama, who is scheduled to visit Japan later this week. The huge scale of the aid package is sure to win a certain level of recognition from the United States and European countries.
 鳩山首相は、来日するオバマ米大統領に支援内容を説明する。巨額の財政支援は、米国をはじめ、欧州各国からも一定の評価が得られるだろう。

The 5 billion dollars assistance will be extended to the war-torn country in the form of grant aid or through international organizations. The public will want the government to give a satisfactorily detailed explanation of how the funds will be spent. It also will be important for the government to implement the aid package while verifying its effectiveness.
 50億ドルは無償資金協力や国際機関を通じて拠出されるが、その具体的な使途について、政府は国民に十分に説明することが求められる。支援の効果も検証しつつ、実施していくことが大切だ。

The government insists the international community should provide measures to back the people of Afghanistan's own efforts to bring stability to daily life in their nation.
 政府は、アフガン人自身が民生安定に取り組む能力を強化するため、国際社会は「背後」から支えるべきだとしている。

To this end, the government plans to limit its personnel assistance to activities related directly to public welfare. It is also considering expanding the Japan International Cooperation Agency's agricultural training program in the country. Given the existing security situation in Afghanistan, however, it will be difficult to dramatically increase the number of JICA personnel dispatched to the nation.
 このため、人的支援策も民生分野に限り、国際協力機構(JICA)による現地での農業指導の拡充を検討しているという。だが、現地の治安情勢を考えれば、大幅な人員増は困難だ。

As long as Afghanistan's military and police forces fail to operate with sufficient effectiveness, the International Security Assistance Force, which comprises 42 countries, including the United States and European nations, remains at the forefront of efforts to maintain security in the country.
 アフガンの国軍や警察が十分に機能していない中で、治安維持の前面に立っているのは、欧米など42か国が参加する国際治安支援部隊(ISAF)である。

When the U.N. Security Council decided last month to extend ISAF activities in Afghanistan, Japan, a UNSC nonpermanent member, supported the decision.
 国連安全保障理事会が先月、ISAFの活動延長を決めた際、非常任理事国の日本も賛成した。

In drawing up the assistance measures for Afghanistan, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa sought the possibility of dispatching SDF personnel to the ISAF headquarters and providing airlift assistance by the Air Self-Defense Force.
 支援策の検討にあたっては、北沢防衛相が、ISAF司令部への要員派遣や、航空自衛隊による空輸支援などの可能性を探った。

Ichiro Ozawa, secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, has in the past indicated a willingness to send SDF officers to the ISAF.
 民主党の小沢幹事長は以前、ISAFへの自衛隊派遣に前向きな考えを示したことがある。

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Insufficient debate

However, the idea of using the SDF has already been shelved by the government without sufficient debate. Apparently, the DPJ has instead placed priority on maintaining its governing coalition with the Social Democratic Party, which is against any SDF dispatch overseas.
 しかし、これらが十分論じられないまま、自衛隊活用策は見送られた。自衛隊の海外派遣に反対する社民党との連立維持を優先させたということだろう。

At the time of the Gulf War, the administration of then Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu decided not to send SDF officers to the region and instead provided only economic aid, drawing international criticism for Japan's checkbook diplomacy. The government should recall this bitter memory.
 かつての湾岸危機の際、当時の海部政権が自衛隊派遣を見送り、財政支援だけで対応して「小切手外交」と批判された苦い経験を思い起こす必要がある。

As the MSDF's refueling activity in the Indian Ocean has been highly evaluated by the international community, Japan will lose a lot of goodwill by ending the mission. What Hatoyama should do is to seek ways of continuing the mission.
 海上自衛隊による給油活動は国際社会から高く評価されており、中止によって失われるものは大きい。鳩山首相は、給油活動継続の道を探るべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 11, 2009)
(2009年11月11日01時10分 読売新聞)
by kiyoshimat | 2009-11-11 19:03 | 英字新聞

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