Japan: US pact deters clash with China over isles

[m.lewin92]

Japan said Thursday its security alliance with the U.S. is an important deterrent against conflict breaking out between China and Japan over disputed islands. The U.S. has called for "cooler heads" to prevail in the dispute. It has nearly 50,000 forces based in Japan. Washington takes no position over the islands' sovereignty but says they are covered by a 1960 security treaty requiring the U.S. to aid Japan if attacked.

 

[Grandma]

I bet this comes up in the debate.

 

[Unkotare]

Coast guard saves 64 Chinese seamen from burning freighter ? Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

 

[waltky]

A dangerous precedent...

Japan, US Call Off Naval Drill for Fear of China’s Reaction
October 21,`12 - Japan has decided to cancel its planned joint naval drill with the United States fearing that it would provoke a negative reaction from China, the Japan Times daily reported citing an unnamed source in the government.

According to the scenario of the drills, slated for November, the forces of Japan and the United States were to “recapture” an uninhabited Irisuna Island, a remote island in Okinawa Prefecture. The drills, however, were called off as they could worsen the backlash from Beijing, which blasted Japan’s move to nationalize disputed Senkaku Islands.

The daily said quoting its source in the Japanese government that the decision to abandon the island recapturing drills “reflects the opinion of the prime minister's office.” The relations between Japan and China have recently plummeted to their worst level in years over a chain of islands claimed by both countries.

The islands, known as the Senkaku to Japan and Diaoyu to China, have been at the center of a dispute recently that has triggered violent anti-Japanese protests across China and caused Japanese companies to suspend operations in China. The islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan, lie on a vital shipping route and are situated above large hydrocarbon deposits.

Source Japan, US Call Off Naval Drill for Fear of China

 

[waltky]

China makin' its neighbors nervous...

Uncertain clouds over East Asia
Thu, Feb 07, 2013 - Since last year, East Asia has been overshadowed by various mounting geopolitical tensions due to the escalation of territorial disputes in the East and South China seas. As a major disputing claimant in both cases, China’s recent military assertiveness and jingoistic rhetoric have been perceived negatively by neighboring countries and triggered a series of countermeasures taken by other disputing claimants to balance against China’s expansion of military clout in the region.

Lately, news indicating that countries such as Japan, the Philippines and others are bolstering their defense capabilities suggests that the more China attempts to flex its muscles, the more insecure its neighbors feel and attempt containment maneuvers against China’s rise. This offensive-defensive dynamic is a security dilemma and may ultimately lead to a vicious circle, paving the way for a possible outbreak of military conflict. The root of recent instability in East Asia, from a perspective of power transition theory, stems from the uncertainty over the power struggle between a perceived decline of US hegemony and the rise of Chinese power.

With its outstanding economic success throughout the past two decades, China surpassed Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world in 2010 and has also replaced the role of the US as the primary trading partner with its neighboring countries. Meanwhile, by undertaking proactive, comprehensive and profound economic engagements with East Asian countries, China has effectively transformed itself into an indispensible “hub” and center of the regional economy, a role that is likely to be further intensified and consolidated with its economic structural transformation from the “world’s factory” to the “world’s market.”

Accompanying China’s economic prosperity is its improved military capabilities. An estimate shows that Chinese defense spending has risen from about US$20 billion in 2002 to at least US$120 billion in 2011, which makes China’s the second-largest total defense budget behind only the US. With sufficient financial support, China has aggressively worked on its military build-up and has achieved remarkable progress in terms of military technologies and offensive capabilities. Not only has its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, been commissioned last year, but China has also successfully completed the first takeoff and landing of a J-15 fighter jet on the deck of the carrier, signifying China’s status as a new naval superpower.

In addition, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has intentionally disclosed its self-made cutting-edge weapons, such as J-20 stealth fighter jets, in order to display its military strengths. With enhanced military capabilities, Chinese military leaders have not only become more vocal on foreign affairs, but are more inclined to take a belligerent stance on territorial disputes by publicly announcing readiness to wage a war defending the integrity of China’s sovereignty and territory.

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