Editorials
Wednesday, September 24, 1997THE United States and Japan are strengthening their military cooperation agreement at a time when rapid development of China's armed forces is causing concern. High officials of the two Asia-Pacific powers approved new guidelines revising an agreement first signed in 1978 that calls on Japan to provide support for U.S. forces in the event of a regional conflict. U.S., Japan tighten
mutual defense tiesThe new agreement could permit Japanese mine sweepers to clear international waters or allow Japan to supply fuel and spare parts for U.S. aircraft and ships. Defense Secretary William Cohen said Japan's new role would include assisting in rescue and peacekeeping operations. He said the new guidelines also mean the United States and Japan "will work together" if Japan is threatened.
Both Japanese and U.S. officials -- in addition to Cohen, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright represented the United States -- gave assurances that there was no cause for China to be alarmed by the agreement. Albright said it did not change the United States' policy of recognizing Beijing as the government of China. But a Chinese spokesman in Beijing said if the new arrangement "interferes with a third party, it will disrupt the peaceful situation" in Asia.
The geographic area which the pact would cover is left undefined, perhaps deliberately. However, a Japanese politician created a controversy earlier by saying the agreement would require Japan's support for U.S. forces if they were drawn into a conflict defending Taiwan from China.
The agreement is important as a demonstration that the U.S.-Japan alliance remains healthy in the face of historic changes in the world balance of power. Although no government is prepared to admit it publicly, the emergence of a powerful China in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet empire has radically changed the security situation in East Asia. Japan, above all, must devise new strategies for survival.
By tieing its security closer with the U. S., while denying any hostile intent toward China, Japan recognizes its need to tread a difficult path in the years ahead. It will take sensitivity by Washington policymakers to nurture this alliance despite efforts to oust U.S. forces from Okinawa and other pressures.
ARTHUR A. Rutledge, who died Monday at 90, occupies a major chapter in the history of the labor movement in Hawaii. It is a story of great achievement clouded by accusations of involvement in violent crime, mismanagement of union funds and union election violations. His monuments are the state's hotel workers and transportation unions. His son, Tony, succeeded him as a leader in unionism in his own right. Labor's Art Rutledge
Born in Poland, Rutledge came to the United States when he was 6. His father soon returned to Europe and his mother died when he was 12. He came to Hawaii as a stowaway in 1934 but was sent back to Seattle to pay a $500 fine. He returned to Hawaii for good in 1938 and quickly became involved in the labor movement while working as a bartender.
Rutledge became director of Local 5 of the Hotel Workers Union in 1939 and held that post for 39 years. He also organized Hawaii Teamsters Local 996. Both unions are major forces in the Hawaii economy to this day.
It takes a fighter to build a union, and Rutledge certainly was a fighter. His tactics often landed him in trouble with the law, but he won most of his legal battles.
Hawaii is one of the nation's most heavily unionized states, with all the pluses and minuses that entails. Art Rutledge, along with the ILWU's equally controversial Jack Hall, was one of the principal figures in the struggle to win a better life for Hawaii's working class. In large measure, they succeeded.
AMERICAN Hawaii Cruises, the only line operating between Hawaii's islands, seems likely to achieve a legal monopoly under terms of a provision of the defense spending bill in Congress that has been approved by House-Senate negotiators. Interisland cruises
The provision is intended to protect the line from competition if it buys two new U.S.-built ships, to be delivered by 2008. American Hawaii Cruises is not mentioned in the legislation, but it is the only line that stands to benefit. Once it signed a contract to buy the new ships, only cruise lines already operating here could compete until the new ships wore out.The measure is aimed at ensuring that the cruise line stays in business in Hawaii.
The provision is clearly anti-competitive, but considering the cost of a cruise ship -- $300-400 million -- and the failure of any other lines to enter the interisland market in competition with American Hawaii Cruises, it seems to be a necessary inducement to keep a cruise line operating here in the decades ahead. And interisland cruises are worth preserving.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
