Tighter U.S.-Japan alliance is unexpected legacy of Kishida-Biden era

[Harpy Eagle]

Tighter U.S.-Japan alliance is unexpected legacy of Kishida-Biden era

Uncertainty over successors threatens momentum of 'global partnership'

asia.nikkei.com

When dovish, soft-spoken Fumio Kishida became Japan's 100th prime minister in October 2021, a briefing paper for U.S. President Joe Biden focused on two characteristics: "competence" and "caution."

The memo by Christopher Johnstone, then U.S. National Security Council director for East Asia, highlighted Kishida's competent service as foreign minister for five years under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while also speaking of his perceived caution toward bold initiatives.

Views in Tokyo of Biden before he took office in January 2021 were not all that different.

.....

Yet looking back at the unprecedented tightening of the U.S.-Japan alliance over the past three years, Johnstone, now Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, told Nikkei Asia, "My memo underestimated what was going to prove to be possible."

This is good news for both countries as Japan is a vital ally to the US.

I have little faith either winner in Nov will be able to continue this legacy

 

[shockedcanadian]

Tighter U.S.-Japan alliance is unexpected legacy of Kishida-Biden era

Uncertainty over successors threatens momentum of 'global partnership'

asia.nikkei.com

When dovish, soft-spoken Fumio Kishida became Japan's 100th prime minister in October 2021, a briefing paper for U.S. President Joe Biden focused on two characteristics: "competence" and "caution."

The memo by Christopher Johnstone, then U.S. National Security Council director for East Asia, highlighted Kishida's competent service as foreign minister for five years under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while also speaking of his perceived caution toward bold initiatives.

Views in Tokyo of Biden before he took office in January 2021 were not all that different.

.....

Yet looking back at the unprecedented tightening of the U.S.-Japan alliance over the past three years, Johnstone, now Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, told Nikkei Asia, "My memo underestimated what was going to prove to be possible."

This is good news for both countries as Japan is a vital ally to the US.

I have little faith either winner in Nov will be able to continue this legacy

China knows that if Trump wins there will be a major focus on shifting resources to the South China Sea and Taiwan. Trump was close friends with Abe and he respects the Japanese people while his focus is to ensure China doesn't replace America. This wouldn't change under Trump it would accelerate. I listen to Vances words, this is going to accelerate and China can't have that.

China will be working overtime to ensure that Harris wins. A Harris/Walz administration is the final piece they need in place before they attack. I even watched Isaac Stone Fish, an apparent Chinese expert say in a major network interview, "America will have to decide if we are willing to fight for Taiwan (by 2027) or we just accept that America is the second strongest country in the world and cede power to China."

This is the first time publicly on a major network I have heard the capitulation of experts so clear. Americans are clueless as to what this will really mean for America and the world.

All America has done is cede power to China for decades. There is no way America "just falls to second place" if Taiwan is lost. All will be lost, from Europe and especially Asia (Japan, S Korea etc). America would drop to the influence of the modern day France.

I have to believe with confidence that China has many major covert operatives working for them in Western governments while American spies in China are few and far between. Surely because of how high up Chinas infiltrators are. They have even convinced media owners to promote far-left governments as "good for them", when it reality they are very good for China.

It's been a magnificent display of global spy networking, control and influence. Nothing like it in my lifetime. While the U.K and U.S seem content to lose the meritocracy of top talent.

Biden was surprisingly focused on countering China which I respected. For this reason alone China cheered his replacement.

However, if Biden was a thorn in their side (from time to time) Harris/Walz is perfect for China. They couldn't ask for a better team in the W.H as they continue to sink the U.S influence. There will come a time when the Western influencers/career government buraucrats will just be "big fish in a much smaller pond as China and others surpass America. But hey, it's my little pond at least!"

 

[Harpy Eagle]

China knows that if Trump wins there will be a major focus on shifting resources to the South China Sea and Taiwan.

How does Trump saying Taiwan needs to pay us to protect them play into this?

Do you think that is a good route for the US to go, since the US is all you seem to care about.

 

[shockedcanadian]

How does Trump saying Taiwan needs to pay us to protect them play into this?

Do you think that is a good route for the US to go, since the US is all you seem to care about.

He is getting them to buy U.S military equipment, this is his playbook.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

He is getting them to buy U.S military equipment, this is his playbook.

I have to give you some credit, you are one of the most loyal cult members.

 

[shockedcanadian]

I have to give you some credit, you are one of the most loyal cult members.

No, I am indifferent to the noise. I remind people I didn't even want Trump to win in 2016, I preferred Rand Paul or Marco Rubio.

Once I heard him talking about real meat and potato issues, I said "this guy may be on to something".

People are tired of high level, obscure references to policies. Most of which are just salad dressing when people need real policies.

I am fully aware of what this world is going to look like if America doesn't succeed. Not small cliques of people or small industries, but the American Middle Class.

I would love there to be say, a Bill Clinton running for the Dems today. He was a moderate Democrat in the 1990s. Harris is far too much of a wildcard both on policy and global leadership. If she would have chosen Shapiro there might be a bit of faith. Her choice of Walz was very telling and I've been through too much in life to gaslight myself. The writing is on the wall on how she will govern.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

No, I am indifferent to the noise. I remind people I didn't even want Trump to win in 2016, I preferred Rand Paul or Marco Rubio.

Once I heard him talking about real meat and potato issues, I said "this guy may be on to something".

People are tired of high level, obscure references to policies. Most of which are just salad dressing when people need real policies.

I am fully aware of what this world is going to look like if America doesn't succeed. Not small cliques of people or small industries, but the American Middle Class.

I would love there to be say, a Bill Clinton running for the Dems today. He was a moderate Democrat in the 1990s. Harris is far too much of a wildcard both on policy and global leadership. If she would have chosen Shapiro there might be a bit of faith. Her choice of Walz was very telling and I've been through too much in life to gaslight myself. The writing is on the wall on how she will govern.

Yes, you are indifferent to any noise not fed to you by your cult.

 

[shockedcanadian]

Yes, you are indifferent to any noise not fed to you by your cult.

List me the policies of both candidates please. Right here. You can list them, right?

I will then tell you which policies are more in line with my world view and global concerns.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

List me the policies of both candidates please. Right here. You can list them, right?

I will then tell you which policies are more in line with my world view and global concerns.

It seems that your only global concern is that the US keep being the World's police force so your country can ride its coattails.

 

[shockedcanadian]

It seems that your only global concern is that the US keep being the World's police force so your country can ride its coattails.

It goes way beyond that. We are talking about civil liberties and capitalism being destroyed. The end of Judeo-Christian values which have made the West the envy of the world.

You downplay what is at stake. It's as if half of America lives in a world in which they've been the victim of a psy-ops and they believe they are winning like its 1980 again,.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

It goes way beyond that. We are talking about civil liberties and capitalism being destroyed. The end of Judeo-Christian values which have made the West the envy of the world.

You downplay what is at stake. It's as if half of America lives in a world in which they've been the victim of a psy-ops and they believe they are winning like its 1980 again,.

I know the US is declining, it is inevitable, every empire does.

I just do not see it as the end of the world that you seem to, which is odd considering you claim to not even live here.

There have been a lot of countries that have held the sort of sway over the world that the US does/did. Most are still around and doing just fine without being the king of the hill.

The world will get along fine without the US controlling it and the US will get along fine without being the last remaining empire.

You said that the US's influence is waning, and you are correct. And it is very much a self inflicted wound. Gunboat diplomacy will eventually lose to economics.

 

[JoeB131]

More of Shocked Canadian's Sinophobia on display.

China knows that if Trump wins there will be a major focus on shifting resources to the South China Sea and Taiwan. Trump was close friends with Abe and he respects the Japanese people while his focus is to ensure China doesn't replace America. This wouldn't change under Trump it would accelerate. I listen to Vances words, this is going to accelerate and China can't have that.

China will be working overtime to ensure that Harris wins. A Harris/Walz administration is the final piece they need in place before they attack. I even watched Isaac Stone Fish, an apparent Chinese expert say in a major network interview, "America will have to decide if we are willing to fight for Taiwan (by 2027) or we just accept that America is the second strongest country in the world and cede power to China."

Abe was a terrible PM. His grandfather was a war criminal in WWII.

China isn't going to attack anyone and needlessly antagonizing them isn't in anyone's interest.

All America has done is cede power to China for decades. There is no way America "just falls to second place" if Taiwan is lost. All will be lost, from Europe and especially Asia (Japan, S Korea etc). America would drop to the influence of the modern day France.

Um, actually, Chinese economic dominance is probably inevitable due to her sheer size. One out of five humans is Chinese.

If China rightfully reclaims Taiwan, then it's just not a big deal. Yes, it will suck for the people of Taiwan, but in the cosmic scheme of things, um, not really.

I have to believe with confidence that China has many major covert operatives working for them in Western governments while American spies in China are few and far between. Surely because of how high up Chinas infiltrators are. They have even convinced media owners to promote far-left governments as "good for them", when it reality they are very good for China.

Or maybe China is just being smart about it. While the US goes around trying to bully the rest of the world with an increasingly less potent military, China is making friends and influencing people through the Belt and Road Initiative, improving infrastructure around the world.

If anything, the Chinese are pretty restrained. Right now, Myanmar is a hot mess. A civil war with 17 defined factions. Now, if the US had that kind of a mess on it's border, the President would have sent in the Army and Marines by now. China is...well, not doing much of anything, really. The PLA could pretty much crush all factions like bugs, but they don't, do they? Why? Because Burma isn't part of China historically.

Biden was surprisingly focused on countering China which I respected. For this reason alone China cheered his replacement.

However, if Biden was a thorn in their side (from time to time) Harris/Walz is perfect for China. They couldn't ask for a better team in the W.H as they continue to sink the U.S influence. There will come a time when the Western influencers/career government buraucrats will just be "big fish in a much smaller pond as China and others surpass America. But hey, it's my little pond at least!"

Um, okay, just not seeing the problem here. We have too many problems of our own to worry that "Oh my Gosh, China might suprass us as the world's top economy!

 

[shockedcanadian]

I know the US is declining, it is inevitable, every empire does.

I just do not see it as the end of the world that you seem to, which is odd considering you claim to not even live here.

There have been a lot of countries that have held the sort of sway over the world that the US does/did. Most are still around and doing just fine without being the king of the hill.

The world will get along fine without the US controlling it and the US will get along fine without being the last remaining empire.

You said that the US's influence is waning, and you are correct. And it is very much a self inflicted wound. Gunboat diplomacy will eventually lose to economics.

If America declines it means all of the West will replace civil liberties with something else.

Have you not learned any lessons since WWII?

 

[JoeB131]

It goes way beyond that. We are talking about civil liberties and capitalism being destroyed. The end of Judeo-Christian values which have made the West the envy of the world.

You downplay what is at stake. It's as if half of America lives in a world in which they've been the victim of a psy-ops and they believe they are winning like its 1980 again,.

I lived through 1980. We are far better off now!

The Chinese are more capitalist than we are.

Shit, man, the Chinese LOVE money. The Chinese have a God of Money. Chinese people greet each other at the beginning of the new year with, "I hope you get rich!"

For those playing along at home, my wife is Chinese. She works six days a week and 12 hours a day, and she would probably work more than that if I didn't insist that we have some rest time.

If the Chinese supplant us, it will be because they worked harder than we did.

 

[JoeB131]

If America declines it means all of the West will replace civil liberties with something else.

Have you not learned any lessons since WWII?

China isn't Nazi Germany or even Imperial Japan. So that's not a valid argument.

Frankly, China has only fought three wars since the Communists won the Civil War. 1950 in Korea (where they only entered when the UN was getting way too close to their border), 1962 with a border skirmish with India, and 1979, when they invaded Vietnam in retaliation for Vietnam invading Cambodia.

The last two were MINOR wars that didn't last long.

Now, compare that to the US, which has fought major wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Libya, not to mention involvement in Ukraine,

 

[Harpy Eagle]

If America declines it means all of the West will replace civil liberties with something else.

Why does it mean this?

Are there no civil liberties in Europe?

Or are you claiming they only exist because of the US?

Have you not learned any lessons since WWII?

The lessons since WWII is almost constant state of war by the US.

This century along we have wasted a few trillion dollars just on wars in the middle east, with nothing to show for it but a massive national debt.

 

[shockedcanadian]

Why does it mean this?

Are there no civil liberties in Europe?

Or are you claiming they only exist because of the US?



The lessons since WWII is almost constant state of war by the US.

This century along we have wasted a few trillion dollars just on wars in the middle east, with nothing to show for it but a massive national debt.

Yes, civil liberties in Europe and elsewhere in the world exist because of America. WWII changed everything. It's only been 80 years. America ensured that no world wars broke out since then and that fascism and communism failed.

They now realize that the decades of assisting China and embracing every issue THEY pushed, such as climate change, mass immigration, larger government control has all been for Chinas benefit.

This has been a long, slow grind by the Communists of China to have Europe and the U.S undermine their own energy industries, to sink their own Middle Class, their patriotism, their manufacturing and military capabilities, and ultimately, ensure more central control which China can influence. All at the cost of civil liberties and sovereignty of citizens.

I don't think people realize just how impressive Chinas intelligence have been. They even have a long line of apologists for them in America. They divided and conquered the West without firing a shot. Turning the tables on what Reagan did to the old Soviet Union.

We did it to ourselves. I listen to people who are supposed to be intelligent and knowledgeable. I'm not impressed in 80% of the cases unfortunately. These guys are supposed to be able to impress average people like myself. That's a problem when the standard has fallen so much.

 

[shockedcanadian]

China isn't Nazi Germany or even Imperial Japan. So that's not a valid argument.

Frankly, China has only fought three wars since the Communists won the Civil War. 1950 in Korea (where they only entered when the UN was getting way too close to their border), 1962 with a border skirmish with India, and 1979, when they invaded Vietnam in retaliation for Vietnam invading Cambodia.

The last two were MINOR wars that didn't last long.

Now, compare that to the US, which has fought major wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Libya, not to mention involvement in Ukraine,

The real Chinese are in Taiwan, you know that right?

The CCP who run China now are just a party that was funded by Russia at that time. They are now a very powerful party.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Yes, civil liberties in Europe and elsewhere in the world exist because of America. WWII changed everything. It's only been 80 years. America ensured that no world wars broke out since then and that fascism and communism failed.

Your romanticized view of America has no basis in reality.

Most conflicts since WWII have been because of the US.

The thing that has stopped another WW is nuclear weapons, nothing else. MAD made sure that it would not happen again.

They now realize that the decades of assisting China and embracing every issue THEY pushed, such as climate change, mass immigration, larger government control has all been for Chinas benefit.

This has been a long, slow grind by the Communists of China to have Europe and the U.S undermine their own energy industries, to sink their own Middle Class, their patriotism, their manufacturing and military capabilities, and ultimately, ensure more central control which China can influence. All at the cost of civil liberties and sovereignty of citizens.

I don't think people realize just how impressive Chinas intelligence have been. They even have a long line of apologists for them in America. They divided and conquered the West without firing a shot. Turning the tables on what Reagan did.

I would also say that your view of China has no basis in reality either. The US has not undermined our energy industries, we are producing more oil and NG than any point in history and are the world's biggest export of said energy.

The demise of the US is not China's fault or China's doing. It is self-inflicted. We have assumed that having the biggest, baddest military would be enough for us to maintain control for eternity, and that was stupid.

What has been impressive about China is their long range vision, while the US was wasting money on wars they were building up their customer base all around the world. While we were ignoring Africa, viewing them as nothing but savages living in grass huts, China was helping them progress so they would have a new generation of customers.

Same thing in Latin and South America. While China is signing new trade deals left and right, the US is pissing off countries by putting sanctions on former leaders for some unknown fucking reason.

 

[shockedcanadian]

Your romanticized view of America has no basis in reality.

Most conflicts since WWII have been because of the US.

The thing that has stopped another WW is nuclear weapons, nothing else. MAD made sure that it would not happen again.



I would also say that your view of China has no basis in reality either. The US has not undermined our energy industries, we are producing more oil and NG than any point in history and are the world's biggest export of said energy.

The demise of the US is not China's fault or China's doing. It is self-inflicted. We have assumed that having the biggest, baddest military would be enough for us to maintain control for eternity, and that was stupid.

What has been impressive about China is their long range vision, while the US was wasting money on wars they were building up their customer base all around the world. While we were ignoring Africa, viewing them as nothing but savages living in grass huts, China was helping them progress so they would have a new generation of customers.

Same thing in Latin and South America. While China is signing new trade deals left and right, the US is pissing off countries by putting sanctions on former leaders for some unknown fucking reason.

You seem to have some logical, though jaded view. I will grant you some points for clarity.

However, you have not explained why Harris is a better option than Trump. Again, list the policies to explain why.