Japan calls for deniable deterrence #naval #nuclear

This seems to amount to a call for a deniable flavor of deterrence. A new wrinkle!  Not exactly a clarion call of confidence, in anything …

Tokyo sees the Tomahawk, especially submarine-launched cruise missiles, as the most logical weapon of deterrence in the neighborhood, since the last tactical bombs were removed from US bases in South Korea and aboard US Navy aircraft carriers nearly two decades ago.

This summer Japanese embassy officials in Washington quietly but strongly lobbied against American plans to retire the nuclear version of the Tomahawk in the context of the Congressional Commission on Strategic Posture of the United States. Its recommendation will go into Washington's forthcoming Nuclear Posture Review, which will determine the basic nuclear defense, disarmament and proliferation policies for the next decade.

The body, headed by two former defense secretaries, was formed in 2008 and issued its first report in May. It said: “One particularly important ally has argued to the commission privately that the credibility of the US extended [nuclear] deterrence depends on the specific capability to hold a variety of targets at risk in a way that is either visible or stealthy as circumstances warrant.”

It went on to elaborate: “In Asia extended deterrence relies heavily on the deployment of nuclear cruise missiles on some Los Angeles-class attack submarines… it has become clear that some allies in Asia would be very concerned about [Tomahawk] retirement.”

via Asia Sentinel – Japan: Save the Endangered Tomahawk!.

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