Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of Japan’s lifting of its ban on arms exports on the UK.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Japanese government’s new guidelines on arms exports have shifted the country’s policy on arms exports from a de facto ban with occasional exceptions, to a set of principles governing the transfer overseas of defence equipment. This move is in line with Japan’s National Security Strategy, published last year, and reflects the commitment of the Japanese government to play a more active role in international peace and security, a commitment which the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) welcomed when he visited Tokyo in October 2013.

The new principles which the Japanese government have published make clear that Japan will implement its new export control regime in line with international treaty obligations, including the Arms Trade Treaty, and UN Security Council resolutions. Applications will be subject to strict examination and transparency, and controls will be applied concerning extra-purpose use and third-party transfer.

For the UK, the new export control principles may give rise to further opportunities for British defence companies to engage in co-development and joint production of defence equipment with Japanese partners. This builds on the UK-Japan Defence Equipment Cooperation Framework agreement signed by the Foreign Secretary with his Japanese counterpart in July 2013.