Will Japan Switch to China’s side Causing the US to Lose Entire Asia?
Posted: June 10, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Abe, China, Duterte, Japan-China ties, Philippines, Trump, US 15 Comments
State Councilor Yang Jiechi (left) with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe before their talks in Tokyo on May 31. Photo: Kyoto
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe regards a rising China as Japan’s top threat; therefore, he is the greatest enthusiast in helping former US President Obama set up the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and implement his pivot to Asia to contain China.
China’s construction of large artificial islands with three airstrips able to deploy more fighter jets than all US aircraft carriers makes the US unable to control the South China Sea. In addition, the US simply cannot win a war with China near China as China has deployed anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles and is establishing an anti-submarine network.
Like Philippine President Duterte, Abe has doubt now whether the US is able to defend Japan even if it has transferred 60% military to Asia according to Obama’s pivot to Asia.
Abe did not switch as he still hopes that he could rely on TPP to contain China and make Japanese economy grow to counter China’s economic influence in Asia.
TPP is so important to Abe that he rushed to the US twice shortly after Trump was elected and was inaugurated to try to persuade Trump not to withdraw from TPP but in vain.
On the contrary, to his great consternation in his meeting with Trump, he was told that Trump had been successfully in the process of improving US ties with China. That is Abe’s nightmare as instead of being Japan’s ally in containing China, Trump is turning the US into Japan’s fierce competitor in China’s huge market.
What shall Abe do? Shall he switch to Chinese side like Duterte has done?
Militarily, Trump has promised Abe that the US will perform its obligations to protect Japan. Abe is in a much better position than Duterte who has no hope for US military support in his conflict with China.
However, economy is more important for Abe. If he fails to improve Japan’s economy as he has promised, there is no hope for him and his party to remain in power in Japan. Therefore, whatever the cost, even humiliation, he has to improve economic ties with China.
That is why Reuters begins its report “Tokyo trip may be in the cards for Xi Jinping, sources say” by saying, “Japan is mulling asking China’s president to visit in the latter half of next year, government insiders say”.
In addition, Reuters says, “To lay the groundwork for the trip, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was likely to visit China in the first half of next year, the sources told Kyodo News.”
However, it is now but Abe’s wishful thinking as China has said nothing about the exchange of visit.
This blogger believes that China will improve economic ties with Japan as both China and Japan will be benefited.
Moreover, China will certainly be in a better position in dealing with both the US and Japan if it draws the two countries into fierce competition in Chinese market.
If the economic benefits in Japan’s ties with China keep on growing while Trump’s protectionism causes Japan’s share in its important US market to keep on shrinking, there is chance for Japan’s switch to China’s side, causing the US to lose entire Asia.
Comment by Chan Kai Yee on Reuters’ report, full text of which can be viewed at http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2097786/tokyo-trip-may-be-cards-xi-jinping-sources-say.
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“China’s construction of large artificial islands with three airstrips able to deploy more fighter jets than all US aircraft carriers makes the US unable to control the South China Sea.”
These Chinese man made islands are fixed. Unlike aircraft carriers they cannot move. China brags that it will use its ballistic missiles to bombard Guam. Just think about how many ballistic missiles would be needed to return China’s man made islands back to the sea. Not many!
“In addition, the US simply cannot win a war with China near China as China has deployed anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles and is establishing an anti-submarine network.”
The reality is that these Chinese anti ship ballistic missiles have never been tested against a moving ship at sea. Further, now that China is building carriers, the tactic of anti-ship ballistic missiles can be turned around and used against THEIR carrier fleet. Is China ready for that?
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For your information, the missie has been tested and sunk a target ship.
I have passed the news in my post.
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‘China brags that it will use its ballistic missiles to bombard Guam’? When did China ever do that? Unlike the American, China always states that their weapons are only as deterrent. It is always American Pacific commanders, especially the American Tojo Admiral Harry Harris who always boasted to brag he ‘could’ attack China or the artificial islands. I believe Obama had to issue ‘gag orders’ to explain his irresponsible comments.
The reality is China has full control of the SCS now, with full support of ASEAN. ASEAN has moved to ratify the code of conduct at sea with China. Our code of conduct. Not American code of conduct. When it is ratified, everyone must follow it, Including the American. Which mean no more American nonsense FONOP, no more American nonsense ‘International normalties’. America is risking to be branded as rogue nation and alienated from the region if they disregard our terms. Which means it will be a very very difficult for the American to operate in the region anymore. Guam after all is a relatively far away. It is going to be very expensive to operate from there. There are lots of ‘reality’ of the region that are not fake news. That’s why we seldom read Western media anymore. My advice, learn the local language and read the real news.
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He is from the land of holy cow crap.
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Poor man … a man clutching at straws. If it helps to maintain your sanity and massage your bruised ego, you may believe whatever you want to believe. You may even believe the moon is made of blue cheese if you like.
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In Japan, Yakuza mindset is deeply entrenched in Japanese heritage. This parasitic culture is even influencing Japanese foreign policy. Even in the Bakufu period, Japanese shoguns and daimyos employed Yakuza to do their dirty works. That’s why the Japs need the American to keep military presence in Japan. The American, for all its bravado is actually behaving like Yakuza in Asia. Like the American who keep 37000 troops doing nothing in Japan, the Yakuza keeps their gangsters in crowded districts. Like the Yakuza who claims busy district to run protection rackets and shady businesses, the American claims hegemonies in the region to extort capitalistic economic benefits and shady investment from countries in the region. Just like the Yakuza who loves to show off their shiny samurai swords and gun to intimidate people, the American loves to show off their shiny but outdated military equipment in the name of gunboat fiplomacy, show the flag, FONOP and so on. But just like the Yakuza who runs away quickly when trouble arise, the American runs away quickly when confronted by Chinese warships and warplanes in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. In the end, Japanese businesses pay the Yakuza for nothing while the Yakuza always complains that they do not get enough paid. Just as Japan pays the American for nothing, while Donald Trump complains that the Japs do not pay enough for American ‘protection’. In fact, the American cannot even protect Japan from North Korea that they beg China to reign over North Korea while asking the Japs to defend themselves. And the American is still asking the Japs to bow their head so low to be stepped upon by the American every year, apologizing in the commemoration of war that the Japs killed a few spoiled Westerners, where the Japs are allowed to deny committing atrocities on their fellow Asians. Sure the American indulges itself with Japanese Yakuza culture that the American find Yakuza is more appealing than American own murderous cowboy culture. When business is good, paying protection racket is not so bad. When business is sluggish, it is time to switch to another Yakuza faction. Perhaps Shinso Abe has seen rival for American Yakuza in the form of China. However, China has proven that it is no Yakuza. In fact, China is known to hate gangsters that it decimated Yakuza-style gangsters in Hongkong. Japan should ditch this barbaric Yakuza mentality if it want to rejoin the region. After all, Japan had tried to be the Yakuza of Asia in the WW2 when the Japs declared to be the ‘big brother of Asia’ while subjugating its Asian ‘little brothers’ so cruelly.
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Japanese nationalism is alive and well, it is not tempered by morality or ethics found in Christianity or Confucianism. Japan will use any tactics to win at all cost. It has surreptitiously rebuilt its military under the very nose of the US. Unbelievably, Japanese navy is in the South China Seas again. It will toss its pacifist constitution into the waste basket the first chance it gets.
Japan enshrines war criminals and denies war atrocities, it rewrites history and prepares its children for the next war. Clearly, Japan is stirring the pot with the hope of starting a war between China and the US (to avenge defeat by both). The US will be wise to keep this ally under control. Japan will not hesitate to stab the US in the back again. China will do well to keep this unrepentant foe at arms length.
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China would be wise not to provoke Japan. There maybe some unpleasant surprises if they do.
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Since Japanese government bought disputed islands, China has sent large fishing fleet to fish in and patrolled the disputed waters around the disputed islands regularly.
Japan threatened that it would send its navy to drive away Chinese ships, but the US openly declared that it would not fight for a few rocks so that Japan dare not send its navy and China continues its “provocations”.
Are those the unpleasant surprises you mentioned. At first those Chinese “provocations” might be surprises but now they are normal without any surprise.
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So what kind of ‘unpleasant’ surprises the Japs have? All they can do is hugging the American so tightly that they begin to loath each other. Is that a surprise? Not really. And now Trump and Abe are haggling over the cost. Wow that’s really ‘unpleasant’ surprise, for the Japs that is. Japan switches side to China? That would be ‘unpleasant’ surprise, for the American that is. Is that what you mean?
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Redflag or Nippon flag?
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Neither, it’s the Cow flag from India
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China has been ‘provoking’ Japan all this while by sailing and fishing in the vicinity of Diaoyu Dao.
From within China’s airspace the old H-6 bombers by firing cruise missiles are enough to obliterate Japan.
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Barbaric savages are strange creatures seeking advantages for self benefit and are highly unrepentant for serious crimes against humanity. Abe is an unrepentant scoundrel seeking ways to counter China’s rise including war with the support of another scoundrel US. Abe realises that his government will lose in the next federal election and trying to ‘mend’ ways to gain as much benefit from China and US. China holds the economic trump card and dealing with the US market is better than the Japanese. This is not to say that the Japanese market is not important, but it’s better to retain the status quo until the next Japanese government gains office.
There is a lot at stake. The Diaoyu islands need to be rectified or negotiated from it’s current situation. How can Japan switch sides whilst both sides are conducting confrontational coastguard activities in the ECS. Japan will remain a US lackey seeking military protectionism.
President Xi will not be doing China a favour by visiting Japan and the Chinese will line the streets of Beijing protesting against the unrepentant scoundrel visiting China.
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