Ruling could help Japan project its maritime power: analysts

Tokyo

FOR Japan, the Hague tribunal's ruling that China's claims to much of the South China Sea are invalid is a source of considerable satisfaction. It implies a strong regional role for the US in upholding the Law of the Sea, at a time when Tokyo is keen on strengthening its own maritime power projection with Washington.

And for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who on Sunday secured a landslide election victory that could eventually pave the way for him to amend his country's post-war pacifist constitution, the ruling offers a justification for moving Japan onto a more assertive military track without appearing bellicose. Most Japanese remain wary of their country being able to project military force overseas, despite China's increasingly assertive presence and the perceived threat of a nuclear-armed North Korea. But a Japan acting as an upholder of international maritime law is something most Japanese could support, analysts say.