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Showing posts with the label China-Japan- USA

America and Japan Must Team Up to Stop China ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Taylor M. Wettach)

Image credits- VOA Source- The National Interest  Author-  Taylor M. Wettach After a period of strategic drift, the U.S.-Japan alliance has been reconfirmed as the cornerstone of regional security under an Abe administration committed to moving Japan to the front of the global stage. This reinforcing of the alliance, exemplified by the revision of the U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines, is boosted by an array of Japanese national-security reforms that include reinterpretation of the constitution to allow for collective self-defense and the removal of the longstanding arms-export ban. While such developments reflect the ideological bent of the Abe government, they are rooted in a competitive security environment and, in particular, the rise of China. The challenge of China’s rise to Asia’s security has been most evident in the maritime sphere. Japan has had to bear much of the burden in responding to growing Chinese assertiveness in the East China Sea, culminating in Beijin

Japan's Master Plan to Destroy the Chinese Navy in Battle ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Harry J. Kazianis)

JMSDF ships ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons ) Source- The National Interest Author-  Harry J. Kazianis It seems that Japan is developing plans to craft its own Anti-Access/Area-Denial (A2/AD) strategy—or what one former Japanese official describes as “maritime supremacy and air superiority”—against the Chinese Navy. The plan itself, detailed by Reuters, makes a tremendous amount of good sense: “Tokyo is responding by stringing a line of anti-ship, anti-aircraft missile batteries along 200 islands in the East China Sea stretching 1,400 km (870 miles) from the country's mainland toward Taiwan. . . “While the installations are not secret, it is the first time such officials have spelled out that the deployment will help keep China at bay in the Western Pacific and amounts to a Japanese version of the "anti-access/area denial" doctrine, known as "A2/AD" in military jargon, that China is using to try to push the United States and its a

U.S.-Japan: A Pacific Alliance Transformed ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Jeffrey W.Hornung)

Image credits- department of State, USA by William Ng Source- The Diplomat  Author- Jeffrey W.Hornung All eyes were on Washington last week, for the visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. One of the focal points was a document that altered security ties between the U.S. and Japan. On Monday, the two countries released new guidelines for defense cooperation, outlining the general framework and policy direction for the roles and missions of the two countries’ militaries. This new document lays out a vision for the alliance that is rooted in bilateralism but is global in scope. Importantly, Japan has emerged as a willing partner in many roles it once considered taboo. Together, this translates into a stronger alliance with broader functions and geographical scope. To quote U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, the updated guidelines will “transform the U.S.-Japan alliance.” The U.S.-Japan defense guidelines had become antiquated. First written in 1978, they specified

China, Be Afraid: The Mighty U.S.-Japan Alliance Is Going Global ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Nick Bisley)

Japanese Air Self Defence Force F-15 ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Air Force)  Source- The National Interest Author-  Nick Bisley Due to continuing challenges around the TPP agreement, the public release of the revised Guidelines for Japan–US Defense Cooperation is the key policy outcome of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s spring visit to Washington DC. The rebalance to Asia is the signature feature of the Obama administration’s foreign policy, with the Japanese alliance at its center. For this reason alone the Guidelines are of importance. They also spell out a broader functional purpose and larger conceptual frame of reference for the bilateral relationship, which adds to their significance. But what signals do the Guidelines send about the strategic relationship and its purpose? Perhaps the most striking of these is that the alliance is now explicitly global in scope. The alliance has evolved from a key part of US Cold War strategy and it’s n

A New Type of U.S.-Japan Relations ( Source- The National Interest / Author-Patrick M. Cronin)

Image source- Reuters / Author- Larry Downing Source- The National Interest Author- Patrick M. Cronin At 9:30 AM on April 28, 1952 the U.S.-Japan alliance stood up as the U.S. occupation of Japan stood down. At the end of this month, the U.S.-Japan alliance will step up as Japan steps out as a more normal state, capable of both defending itself and others. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s address to a joint session of Congress on April 29 should go down in history as a day of glory, not of infamy. Some serious critics will remain dissatisfied over perceived historical revisionism. Yet the fact will remain that the biggest antagonists in the Pacific War have forged a prosperous postwar system and a vigorous alliance. When the Prime Minister speaks to a full house of Senators and Representatives, he can be expected to offer humble remorse for the past, quiet pride in Japan’s remarkable seven-decade-long contribution to global order, and a roadmap for how the alliance can pe

Japan may give military support to US in South China Sea: Duowei ( Source- Want China Times)

Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Marine Corps By Lance Caption Kevin M. Knallay Source- Want China Times Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party held negotiations over a new amendment to the US-Japan Security Treaty on March 20, according to Duowei News, a media outlet run by overseas Chinese. The amendment is expected to grant Japan the right to collective self-defense and will provide a legal framework for the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) to provide back up for the US military and the militaries of its other allies. There are currently measures in place which prevent the dispatch of the JSDF overseas. The government is drawing up a draft bill to change this, however, at the same time as it is renegotiating its security treaty with the US. China and other neighboring countries engaged in territorial disputes in the resource-rich South China Sea were the focus of the negotiations on March 20. The negotiations suggest t

How Japan's Nationalization Move in the East China Sea Shaped the U.S. Rebalance ( Source- The National Interest, Author- Scott Cheney-Peters)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons Source- The National Interest Author- Scott Cheney-Peters When President Obama heads to Beijing next month for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), it will be an opportunity to take stock of the “rebalance”: to measure its impact on the region and the success of its objectives. Three years after Obama first announced the strategic shift in American military, economic and diplomatic resources (“the Pivot”) in 2011, the results are something of a mixed bag. The United States has enhanced military partnerships while outlining plans for bolstering its military presence in the region, yet on the economic front, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks drag on with tenuous prospects. Diplomatically, the Pew Research Center on one hand reports a plurality of respondents in every Asian country polled except Pakistan, Malaysia and China view the United States as its greatest ally. On the other hand, pluralities in these three are

A Delay Could Strengthen the U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines ( Source- The Diplomat, Author- Clint Richards)

Image credits- Flickr/ United States navy Official Page Source- The Diplomat Author- Clint Richards Both Japanese and U.S. officials are leaking key pieces of information regarding the expected update to their defense cooperation guidelines, which was set to be announced by the end of this year. After releasing an interim report two weeks ago to outline the progress both sides have made so far, on Tuesday the allies said they are currently negotiating a meeting of their defense chiefs sometime next month. U.S. Secretary of State Chuck Hagel and his Japanese counterpart Akinori Eto will seek to hold a sideline meeting during the ASEAN defense minister’s summit on November 18 and 19, where authorities announced the two will discuss accelerating the revision process. Aside from their cooperation guidelines, the two are likely to also reaffirm the controversial plan to move the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station to a its new location of Henoko on the island of Okinawa. Ja