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Showing posts with the label Japanese activities in South China Sea

America, China, India and Japan: Headed Towards a South China Sea Showdown? ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Sam Bateman)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / USN Source- The National Interest Author- Sam Bateman Recent months have seen a continuing increase in military activities in the South China Sea, particularly by the United States and China, but also by ‘bit players’ like India and Japan. These activities only serve to heighten tensions in the region at a time when the priority should be to demilitarize the area. In the most recent serious incident, on May 17, two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a US Navy EP-3 intelligence and surveillance aircraft about 50 nautical miles east of Hainan Island. This incident could have violated agreed upon procedures between the United States and China to manage such encounters. It follows earlier incidents when Chinese jet fighters intercepted US P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft over the South China and Yellow seas. The United States recently conducted its third freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea since China star

South China Sea: 3 Ways to Win the Money War ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Eddie Linczer)

Image credits- Flickr/ United States Navy Source- The National Interest Author- Eddie Linczer China’s domination of the South China Sea is not yet a fait accompli, but the United States must implement a countercoercion strategy more urgently in order to maintain a favorable balance of power. Since the beginning of this year, China has deployed surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles, as well as fighter aircraft, to Woody Island, a part of the Paracel Island chain in the South China Sea. These actions are stepping stones for China to dispatch missile batteries and jets to the more geopolitically significant Spratly Island chain. Now, there is growing concern that Beijing may declare an air-defense identification zone in the South China Sea. Left unchallenged, the Chinese are on track to create “mini denial zones” and bring greater coercive force to bear against neighboring Southeast Asian states. If current trends continue, the South China Sea will be a “Chinese lake” b

Japan: The Next Major Player in the Taiwan Strait? ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Emily S. Chen)

JDS Kirishima ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Emily S. Chen In his recent talk with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China’s Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office Zhang Zhijun reiterated Beijing’s cross-Strait policy. Beijing will continue to uphold the 1992 Consensus, which accepts “one China” but allows strategic uncertainty surrounding its precise definition, resolutely opposes to any form of secessionist activities seeking Taiwan independence and firmly safeguards national sovereignty and territorial integrity. As Taiwan’s president-elect Tsai Ing-wen and her traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) still decline to accept the “One-China” principle of the 1992 consensus, the future of cross-strait relations is fraught with uncertainty. While it is important for the DPP to find “a mutually acceptable mode of interaction between Taiwan and the mainland,”  changes of t

Why the South China Sea Needs Japan's Navy ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Takuya Shimodaira)

JS Kurama ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force) Source- The National Interest Author- Takuya Shimodaira Twenty-five years after the end of the Cold War, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) remains a Cold War navy. As U.S. Naval War College professor James Holmes has argued, the JMSDF has been designed to fill specific niches in partnership with the United States in combating the threats that would have emanated from the Soviet Union; thus, we have seen particularly proficient capabilities like antisubmarine warfare and minesweeping. Is now the time for the JMSDF to change its mind about its goals, fulfilling a new security role in the region and in the world as partners of the United States as spelled out under the Japanese policy of a “Proactive Contribution to Peace”? In the changed conditions of the twenty-first century, the most realistic security approach for the JMSDF will involve more so-called “Non-Combat Militar

Japan Dreams Of A Chinese Energy Chokehold – Analysis ( Source- Eurasia / Author- Robert Shines)

Image credits- You Tube/ Author Source- Eurasia Review Author- Robert Shines “Diamond of Democracies” was a term used to refer to a would-be alliance between the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India and their collective efforts to counter the rise of China. However, Japan has patiently and carefully formulated its own bloc for this very same purpose. Additionally, these plans were complemented by pre-Ukraine Crisis overtures toward Russia to resolve their Kuril Islands dispute. Former Colonies Awaken Echoing their mother country’s path to preeminence, both India and Australia are making strides in building formidable navies able to project power locally and deny access to potential enemies. India’s value to Japan is twofold. First, it is a huge Asian land power with a contemporary history of animosity with China, namely their 1962 border skirmish. It also serves to keep China’s attention divided in the event of a clash with Japan, much like China keeps India’s at

China is on ‘High Alert’ for Japan’s ‘Intervention’ in South China Sea ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Franz- Stefan Gady)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz-Stefan Gady China will remain on “high alert for intervention by Japan in the South China Sea issue” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told Xinhua today, urging Japan to reflect on its past aggression during the Second World War. The Chinese statement was issued in response to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remarks to U.S. President Barack Obama during a bilateral meeting at this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila that Japan would consider sending the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) on patrols in the South China Sea. “China firmly safeguards navigation freedom of various countries in the South China Sea in accordance with international laws,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said. “In the meantime, China is strongly against any country using the excuse of navigation and overflight freedom to engage in activities threatening

The Nine Ironies of the South China Sea Mess ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- James Kraska)

Image credits- Flickr/ United States Navy Source- The Diplomat Author- James Kraska Since 2009, when China asked the secretary-general of the United Nations to circulate its nine-dashed line claim to the community of nations, the world has stood in bewilderment at Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines have the most to lose over China’s gambit, and the disparity in power between them and China leaves them confounded and stunned – and privately, apoplectic. China’s policies have created a dangerous mess in the South China Sea. The irony is palpably bitter on nine distinct levels. Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines hold the key to the best chance to fix the mess. The first irony is that during negotiations for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the developing states reluctantly ceded freedom of navigation through straits and in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for exclusive offshore resource rights. Malaysia