Japan continues to welcome Western military support in East Asia aimed at China: UK strike group
Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
If you view history through the prism of longevity then China wasn’t a threat to Japan. Nor did this nation endanger the sovereignty of Japan. On the contrary, for over one thousand years the cultural impact of China on Japan was enormous.
Yet, after the modernization of Japan that began with the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan would turn against neighbors in Northeast Asia. For China, noting the endless wars between France and Britain throughout history, it is surprising where this anti-China nuance comes from. After all, Buddhist preachers to artists went in both directions for a vast period of history.
Turning the clock forward then not only is Japan protected by the armed forces of America – including the nuclear umbrella – but Japan also welcomes other Western encroachment in East and Northeast Asia. Thus, Japan welcomes the United Kingdom sending a military strike group to East Asia later this year.
Political elites in China will notice the endless anti-China foreign policy nuance under Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Of course, the former leader of Japan, Shinzo Abe, sought alliances with various nations throughout the Asia-Pacific and further afield. However, Abe was more diplomatic towards China and the Russian Federation.
Yet, the current Suga administration and its anti-China sentiment are being felt more sharply. Indeed, the anti-foreign covid-19 measures in Japan and the foreign scapegoat angle is equally noticeable. However, in the realm of geopolitics and the military angle, the anti-China approach in Suga’s administration is being ramped up all the time.
Of course, while Japan gave information to Western allies about Xinjiang, the same Suga administration keeps quiet about events in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh), West Papua (Indonesia), the one-party state in Vietnam, and so forth. Indeed, Suga visited Communist Vietnam and Indonesia during his first trips abroad but he was silent about these contradictions.
Hence, Japan welcomes the United Kingdom sending an aircraft carrier strike group to East Asia by eulogizing the anti-China angle. Historically speaking, it is somewhat ironic that America, Japan, and the United Kingdom are now demanding the status quo. After all, all three nations sowed the seeds of death and geopolitical ambitions throughout the Asia-Pacific region in recent history.
Of course, the Asia-Pacific and Northeast Asia need to be free from any encroachment irrespective of where the threat comes from. However, for Japan, this nation should seek to build better military and political ties with China, the Russian Federation, and South Korea because of the geopolitical reality of Japan.
Yet, it seems that Japan is still distrustful of Northeast Asia in modern times. Thus Japan continues to welcome Western encroachment and power plays.
NHK reports, “Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo has told British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace that he “greatly welcomes” Britain’s plan to deploy an aircraft carrier strike group to the seas around East Asia this year.”
It is hoped that one-day Japan will seek to work more closely with regional nations while maintaining close ties with America and other allies. However, with the usual anti-China nuance being in full swing, it remains to be seen when a fresh approach will be adopted.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210115_03/
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