A new report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies says Japan should work with Taiwan and other Asian democracies to promote security throughout the region.
Written by former US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage and former National Intelligence Council chairman Joseph Nye, the report, The US-Japan Alliance: Anchoring Stability in Asia, urges Tokyo to increase ties and collaboration with Taiwan, India, Australia and the Philippines, and to “ensure unhindered sea-based trade, and to promote overall economic and security well-being.”
There is a “drift” in the US-Japan relationship, and the health and welfare of “one of the world’s most important alliances” is endangered, says the report, which was released on Wednesday.
The report says this comes at a time when the resurgence of China, North Korea with its nuclear capabilities and hostile intentions, and the promise of Asia’s dynamism demand more from the alliance.
“The United States needs a strong Japan no less than Japan needs a strong United States,” it says.
The most immediate challenge is in Japan’s own neighborhood, it says.
“China’s assertive claims to most of the East China Sea and virtually all of the South China Sea, and the dramatic increase in the operational tempo of the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] and other maritime services, including repeated circumnavigation of Japan, reveal Beijing’s intention to assert greater strategic influence throughout the First Island Chain,” it says.
A military contingency in the South China Sea would have severe implications for the security and stability of Japan.
“Japan requires offensive responsibilities to provide for the defense of the nation,” it says.
Both the US and Japan need more “robust, shared and interoperable” intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, and operations.
The report offers a series of policy recommendations to both Tokyo and Washington, and it advises Tokyo to continue engagement in regional forums and with democratic partners, particularly Taiwan, India, Australia and the Philippines.
“Japan should also increase surveillance of the South China Sea in collaboration with the US to ensure freedom of navigation,” the report says.
It urges the US and Japan to improve the quality of their bilateral defense exercises, and make full use of training opportunities in Guam and Australia.
In addition, it says the US and Japan should jointly develop weaponry.
“Japan has the power to decide between complacency and leadership at a time of strategic importance. With the dynamic changes taking place throughout the Asia-Pacific region, Japan will likely never have the same opportunity to help guide the fate of the region,” it says. “In choosing leadership, Japan can secure her status as a tier-one nation.”
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
US President Donald Trump in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday said that “it’s up to” Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be “very unhappy” with a change in the “status quo.” “He [Xi] considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing, but I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that. I hope he doesn’t do that,” Trump said. Trump made the comments in the context
SELF-DEFENSE: Tokyo has accelerated its spending goal and its defense minister said the nation needs to discuss whether it should develop nuclear-powered submarines China is ramping up objections to what it sees as Japan’s desire to acquire nuclear weapons, despite Tokyo’s longstanding renunciation of such arms, deepening another fissure in the two neighbors’ increasingly tense ties. In what appears to be a concerted effort, China’s foreign and defense ministries issued statements on Thursday condemning alleged remilitarism efforts by Tokyo. The remarks came as two of the country’s top think tanks jointly issued a 29-page report framing actions by “right-wing forces” in Japan as posing a “serious threat” to world peace. While that report did not define “right-wing forces,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was
PREPAREDNESS: Given the difficulty of importing ammunition during wartime, the Ministry of National Defense said it would prioritize ‘coproduction’ partnerships A newly formed unit of the Marine Corps tasked with land-based security operations has recently replaced its aging, domestically produced rifles with more advanced, US-made M4A1 rifles, a source said yesterday. The unnamed source familiar with the matter said the First Security Battalion of the Marine Corps’ Air Defense and Base Guard Group has replaced its older T65K2 rifles, which have been in service since the late 1980s, with the newly received M4A1s. The source did not say exactly when the upgrade took place or how many M4A1s were issued to the battalion. The confirmation came after Chinese-language media reported
RSS