Laos Asks America Not to Send Cluster Weapons to Ukraine: Japan Silent
Sawako Utsumi, Noriko Watanabe, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
President Joe Biden of America gave the go-ahead to send indiscriminate cluster munitions to Ukraine. This comes on top of endless supplies by America and fellow NATO allies of military arms to Ukraine aimed at killing Russians – who are indigenous to the Donbass region and further afield.
The administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan is the most anti-Russian Federation government in recent history. Accordingly, Japan supports America in sending cluster munitions to kill Russians despite this nation being a victim of nuclear weapons dropped by America on Japan and equally horrendous carpet bombing of this country during World War Two (Pacific War).
Unlike Japan, Laos remembers history. This concerns the wrongs committed by America concerning Agent Orange dropped on the region and the usage of cluster munitions that killed untold numbers long after the ending of the Vietnam War.
Hirokazu Matsuno, the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, utilized silence to blissful language aimed at glossing over the seriousness of America sending cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Kyodo News reports, “Matsuno said Japan has been aware that the United States will offer cluster munitions designed to minimize the risk of unexploded ordnance and Ukraine will use them exclusively within its territory while trying to reduce harm to those not in the military.”
This is much milder than some NATO nations – including Canada, Spain, and the United Kingdom. These NATO nations don’t support America in sending cluster munitions. Therefore, it sums up the pro-military mindset of the Kishida administration – along with the anti-Russian angle that exists in the upper echelons of the Japanese government.
NHK News reports, “Spain’s defense minister Margarita Robles said Madrid respects the decision of a sovereign country, but disagrees with the US decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos opposes the decision of the Biden administration. This concerns the promise of sending cluster munitions to Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos says: “As the world largest victim of cluster munitions and a state party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic expresses its profound concern over the announcement and the possible use of cluster munitions.”
The statement continued: “The Lao people were victimized by this deadly cluster munition more than five decades ago and even today they continue to be affected by the unexploded ordnance as it continues to pose serious threats to the lives and livelihood of our people.”
The Laotian Times reports, “Between 1964-1975, the US dropped 2,093,100 tonnes of ordnance in Laos during the Vietnam War, which has killed or injured at least 20,000 people since then, of which 45% are children.”
Japan’s silence about America sending cluster munitions to Ukraine is systematic of the Kishida administration – which is anti-Russia. This bodes ill for Northeast Asia because Japan is openly hostile to China and the Russian Federation under Kishida.
Also, it mocks Kishida’s endless mantra of “international law.” Accordingly, it is hoped that other members of the Japanese parliament will raise questions about the current silence of Kishida – concerning cluster munitions.
The New York Times reports, “However compelling it may be to use any available weapon to protect one’s homeland, nations in the rules-based international order have increasingly sought to draw a red line against use of weapons of mass destruction or weapons that pose a severe and lingering risk to noncombatants. Cluster munitions clearly fall into the second category.”
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