YOKOSUKA: The Ame­rican nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan docked at its new home in Japan’s Yokosuka naval port on Thursday just as Tokyo tries to deepen defence ties with the US under new security laws that expand the role of Japan’s military.

The warship received a warm welcome from Japanese officials because of its role in disaster relief following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster in northern Japan.

At a ceremony, US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said the vessel’s arrival and its welcome are “visible symbols of our shared commitment to one another and regional stability.” “Together we provide the most critical pillar of international security, one that only maritime services can deliver,” he said.

Outside the port, however, a small group of citizens protested the aircraft carrier’s deployment as a move to step up Japan’s military cooperation with the US.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has pushed to enhance the role of Japan’s military in national defence and in global peacekeeping. It passed new laws during a chaotic parliamentary session last month that allow the country’s troops to also defend their allies, mainly the US, overseas.

Abe says Japan needs the laws to increase its capabilities amid China’s growing military assertiveness, North Korea’s missile and nuclear ambitions, and other security concerns. But many Japanese worry the new laws increase the risk of Japan becoming embroiled in US-led wars.

The Ronald Reagan, carrying about 5,000 crewmembers, replaces the USS George Washington, which was the first US nuclear-powered warship based in Japan, where atomic weapons are a sensitive issue.

Published in Dawn October 2nd, 2015

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