The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on the Self-Defense Forces, forcing alterations to key preparations for maritime security and adjustments to globally requested programs for disaster response.

Multinational exercises have been scrapped, and interactions on land between crews from different vessels were canceled in 2021. Stress is also building among SDF members stuck at sea abroad to avoid infections on land.

One program affected by the novel coronavirus is the SDF’s Capacity Building Assistance, which teaches militaries in developing nations how to respond to disasters, such as restoring broken roads and schools, and how to use heavy machinery, like hydraulic shovels.

The program, which is part of peacekeeping operations (PKO), started in 2012. Fifteen countries received such assistance by 2020, and in 2019, the SDF dispatched officers to 11 countries.

However, the SDF has halted such dispatches since last year because of the pandemic.

The Ground SDF in February this year started using an online system to continue the assistance program and nurture exchanges for the long term.

On March 24, GSDF officers at a hotel conference room in Ibaraki Prefecture were explaining via computer how to use heavy machinery for disaster recovery to six military engineers in Papua New Guinea.

Demand for SDF know-how in disaster-restoration efforts and PKO is very high.

The engineers of the Papua New Guinea military, which requested the Capacity Building Assistance, appeared eager to learn.

“Sergeant, you are correct,” a GSDF officer said in response to an inquiry.

The program is also aimed at a wider Japanese strategy of building more partnerships, particularly in light of China maritime advances.

“We will try to increase the number of countries where our assistance is provided and the frequency of the assistance by using the online system,” a senior SDF officer said.

NO SHORE LEAVE

But many SDF activities cannot be conducted online.

The Maritime SDF conducts exercises while their crews maintain social distancing.

In early February, 15 MSDF vessels from around Japan gathered at Ise Bay in the central part of the Honshu main island to train for mine warfare. Minesweeping and other measures against the hidden weapons are considered indispensable for the defense of the island nation.

In normal years, during the 10-day training period, the vessels go ashore a couple of times for supplies and refueling. Crew members can also leave their ships and interact with others on land.

These activities were canceled this year, and the crews had to spend the nights aboard their ships at sea.

The vessels were connected by ropes with cushioning material between them to replenish their supplies, which were handed over by crews wearing masks.

Only after the training was over were the crew members allowed to leave the ships.

“We are dealing with a current situation of trying to prevent infections and maintaining our military capacity at the same time,” a senior SDF official said.

STRESS BUILDS AT SEA

On overseas missions, crew members on escort ships also cannot take shore leave.

If dispatched to the Middle East, they first need to stay in quarantine in waters off Japan for two weeks after the departure date. If they are confirmed healthy, they will head for the Middle East.

But while collecting information there, they will spend about half a year constantly at sea until they return home.

“I felt as if the ground became soft,” an officer who returned from the mission said.

To ease the crew members’ stress from the long extended time on the water, the Defense Ministry has tried to create a more relaxing environment on the vessels, such as providing exercise and movie-watching spaces, as well as improving internet connections for their smartphones.

But sometimes, those measures are just not enough.

At the end of March, a sports event and large party were held in Djibouti and attended by 130 SDF personnel there. The events were permitted as an anti-stress measure for SDF members who could not leave their working sites in the unbearably hot country in eastern Africa for a half year.

Fifteen of the members who attended were among the 21 SDF personnel there later confirmed infected with the novel coronavirus.

(This article was written by Yoshitaka Ito and Kaigo Narisawa)