A few weeks ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visits to Japan and South Korea and the Quad Summit in Tokyo, US and Japanese defense ministers met at the Pentagon on Wednesday and agreed to strengthen their defense and security alliance. They also want to combat the “threats” posed by Russia, North Korea and China to the Indo-Pacific “status quo”.
The White House (Photo by Xinhua)
Aside from the two diplomatic events paving the way for more initiatives on specific issues, Japan also aims to justify breaking its own military security taboo, Chinese experts said on Thursday. Japan has historically increased military spending and raised awareness of nuclear deterrence by creating instability and bolstering the “assertiveness” of its neighbors.
In a statement from the US Department of Defense on meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo in Washington, Minister Lloyd Austin thanked Japan for its role in “fighting Russia” in the Ukraine crisis South China Sea,” which underscores the importance of US-Japan cooperation on deterrence. According to Japanese news agencies, Japan’s minister has spoken in detail about its neighbors in the region. The minister highlighted his concerns over the Taiwan issue and the dispute over China’s Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, North Korea’s ballistic missile tests and “Russia’s aggression” in Ukraine, sparking a “new impetus” in Tokyo to strengthen its defense capabilities.
Speaking of the summit of the four heads of state in Tokyo on May 24, Lü Yaodong, director of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Japan wants to take the lead on the geopolitical issues to be discussed, and the meeting with Austin means a prior one Consultation with “big brother” about the issues that are important to him.
Zhu Qingxiu, a researcher in Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Global Times on Thursday that although the Ukraine-Russia conflict was mentioned at the Kishi-Austin meeting, Japan was still focused on the Asia-Pacific region.
“If Biden spends most of his time in Japan talking about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Japan’s concerns in the East and South China Seas will be ignored,” Zhu said – Pacific region notified in advance.”
He went on to say, “If Biden can acknowledge Japan’s concerns at the leaders’ summit in Japan, the signal of deterrence could be stronger for others.” He also noted that this scenario could lead to a new shift in the security situation in Northeast Asia.
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