Chinese leader Xi Jinping has done what no American president ever could. He got Japan to get serious about defense after decades of pathological overdependence on US forces. But here’s the problem: Being serious about defense and actually being able to defend oneself are different things. Japan already has a large and powerful defense force […]

The post Good news, bad news in Japan’s military reawakening appeared first on Asia Times.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin included an “extended deterrence dialogue” (EDD). They they met their Japanese counterparts Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara in Tokyo on July 28 for their 2+2 US-Japan Security Consultative Committee talks.  The Japanese and Americans have held EDD talks since 2010, but never at this level. Simply put, “extended deterrence” refers […]

The post Is Japan nearly cured of its nuclear allergy? appeared first on Asia Times.

Japan can buy all the F35s and long-range and hypersonic missiles it wants. It can even boast of having cobbled together a couple “aircraft carriers.” But so what? It’s not that hardware doesn’t matter. But until Tokyo pays more attention to the people actually serving in the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF), buying shiny expensive equipment […]

The post Japan military hammered and war hasn’t even started appeared first on Asia Times.

When the People’s Republic of China wants something, it is persistent and pushes to get what it wants. And it’s willing to use force if necessary. Japan knows the feeling, when it comes to the disputed Senkaku Islands at the southern end of the Ryukyu chain. They are closer to Shanghai than to Tokyo. The PRC says the islands – […]

The post Japan and US need to up their game in the Senkakus appeared first on Asia Times.

Taiwan, Ukraine and Gaza get most of the attention these days. But the United States’ reputation as a reliable ally is nowhere more at stake than in the Philippines. And that reputation is on the verge of going down the drain. June 17 saw the most recent and most violent effort yet by the China […]

The post US reputation on the line at Second Thomas Shoal appeared first on Asia Times.

United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin commented to reporters at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in early June that the Pentagon is considering posting a four-star general to command US Forces Japan (USFJ). A three-star general currently holds the position. A friend asked about the significance of such a move.  By itself, installing a four-star general doesn’t make much […]

The post 4 stars or 3, send a winner to head US Forces Japan appeared first on Asia Times.

One day the Tesla experience in China will be a business school case study, though not in a good way. Elon Musk thinks he has a special relationship with powerful Chinese officials. There is evidence, he says. He cites Tesla as the first foreign automaker not required by the Chinese government to take on a local partner. However, the Chinese […]

The post Tesla’s in China – It’s just a question of how long appeared first on Asia Times.

Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Beijing was a rousing success, according to Russian and Chinese media. That’s what they always say.  But what’s the reality? Are the Chinese and Russians really in a “no limits partnership” or is it a shotgun marriage that will last only until one is free to stab the other in the […]

The post Russia and China BFFFF – for the foreseeable future appeared first on Asia Times.

I try to write stories that have a shelf life beyond a few days. An Asia Times article from November 27, 2021, “US misses golden opportunity in the Solomon Islands,” qualifies. The national elections have finished and the provincial elections are in their final stages. People voted for change.  China’s man, former Prime Minister Sogavare, didn’t […]

The post Chinese takeover in Solomon Islands was preventable appeared first on Asia Times.

Japan has wanted into AUKUS – the three-way defense agreement among the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom – since the beginning. Saying so isn’t in the Japanese nature, but it appears the Americans are recommending Japan for membership – even if not as a full member.   An Australian friend asked me about this the […]

The post Japan will prove a worthy collaborator with AUKUS appeared first on Asia Times.

The Financial Times recently reported that when US President Joseph Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meet in April they will announce a plan to restructure the relationship between US and Japanese forces in Japan. The objective is to make for more effective operational planning and exercises – with an eye to better handle the threat from the […]

The post High time for real US-Japan defense cooperation appeared first on Asia Times.

President George W Bush once described himself as “a uniter, not a divider.”China’s leader, Xi Jinping is a uniter as well – though in a different sort of way. On April 11, US President Joe Biden, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will meet in Washington, DC. This is the […]

The post Philippines hopes US history won’t repeat itself, again appeared first on Asia Times.

One might get the impression that Taiwan’s defense is just a question of having the right weapons and hardware. But there’s of course more to it than that, including a huge psychological component, as a friend noted the other day when he asked: What is the sentiment of Taiwanese youth in defending their nation from PRC […]

The post Give Taiwan’s youth a fighting chance against China appeared first on Asia Times.

A US Navy destroyer, USS Rafael Peralta recently went to Japan’s Ishigaki island, between Okinawa and Taiwan. It wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms. The local authorities at first refused permission for the ship to dock – claiming the water wasn’t deep enough. They later relented, but the local dockworkers union went on strike to protest the ship’s visit.  Okinawa’s […]

The post US forces unwelcome at Japanese ports and airfields appeared first on Asia Times.

“No better friend, No worse enemy.” That’s the US Marine Corps’ self-image. But if you want Marines to really hate you, just question their new plan, Force Design 2030 (FD 2030). And if you’re a former Marine they’ll hate you even more. General David Berger, then the corps’ commandant, introduced FD 2030 in 2019. He […]

The post US Marine Force Design 2030: hatred and hubris  appeared first on Asia Times.

I started life as a fan of a hapless baseball team called the Washington Senators, so I recognize losing when I see it. There’s plenty of losing going on in the Pacific as the Chinese seek to undercut the American and Australian positions. Lose the Pacific and it almost doesn’t matter what weapons you give to […]

The post US extends losing streak to China in the Pacific appeared first on Asia Times.

China is awash in bad debt, but can it learn from Japan’s experience overcoming the collapse of the 1980s bubble? Let’s discuss what China would need to succeed. The final collapse of Chinese real estate giant, Evergrande, is the latest evidence – as if any were needed – that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is awash in […]

The post What China can learn from Japan about burst bubbles appeared first on Asia Times.

US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel’s recent Washington Post article, “What no expert saw coming: the rise of Japan,” lauds the country’s progress on the defense, economic, and diplomatic fronts over the last couple of years (since he arrived in Tokyo).   If the ambassador is surprised, he was talking to the wrong people before he went to Japan. […]

The post Japan is doing well but isn’t ‘there’ yet appeared first on Asia Times.

You think America’s tail-between-its-legs departure from Afghanistan was bad? Something even worse is coming in the Pacific, albeit more quietly. US defenses in the Asia-Pacific center on a defense line running from Japan to Philippines to Taiwan and on to Borneo. The so-called First Island Chain. Try defending against China along the first island chain without […]

The post Afghan-like retreat debacle looms in Pacific islands appeared first on Asia Times.

Japan recently announced that it will transfer some number – reportedly “dozens”– of license-built Patriot missiles to the United States. This is to bolster American missile stocks depleted by two years of supplying Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion. It is the first time Japan will export military weaponry owing to longstanding – though informal – policy restrictions.  The announcement […]

The post Patriot missile exports don’t make Japan serious appeared first on Asia Times.