China’s newest military garrison in the contentious South China Sea is largely a political show and won’t significantly raise the threat of armed confrontation in the region. Which is not saying much, since that threat is …
Japan
The South China Sea: From Bad to Worse
TOKYO – Territorial disputes in the South China Sea are about to get a whole lot worse — and at the worst possible time.
Whether the U.S. can avoid being dragged into a shooting match will depend on how far Beijing and its …
Kiwis Ask: Hey, Where Is Everybody?
TOKYO – In a gesture of friendship and goodwill toward an obscure former ally, warships from New Zealand have been granted special, private berthing privileges for a major naval exercise now underway in Hawaii. And wouldn’t …
Japan Takes Command — But Don’t Tell Anyone
U.S. Gets Its Asian Allies Together — Finally
TOKYO – For the first time ever, warships from the United States and its two closest Asian allies have come together in a joint military training exercise. But if the Americans can just keep the South Koreans and Japanese from …
U.S. Takes A Pass — For Now — On China Sea Disputes
TOKYO – The territorial disputes in the South China Seas are over, China has won, and the U.S. couldn’t care less. But that’s not necessarily bad.
While arguments over who owns which reefs, rocks and lagoons in the South …
“Delicate Dance” for Panetta in China’s Backyard
TOKYO – When U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrives in Singapore this week to talk about containing China – and that’s really what this trip is all about — he’ll find plenty of support from friends in the region. …
Marines Return to Historic Pacific Airfield
Clock Ticks On China-Japan Islands Dispute
TOKYO – Japan has one year, maybe two, to resolve the ownership dispute over a tiny group of islands or risk an honest-to-goodness shooting war with China. Unfortunately, neither Japan’s diplomats nor public seem to realize …
Americans Choose Up Sides — Japan Over China
TOKYO – Maybe it’s sympathy from last year’s triple disasters or maybe it’s just China being China. But for what it’s worth, Americans increasingly view Japan as its most important ally in Asia.
A poll released …
China’s ‘Security Dilemma’ Risks Arms Race in Asia
$240 million
U.S. and Japanese Troops Draw Closer
The prospect of U.S. and Japanese troops fighting side by side in the next land war in Asia — and heaven forbid the need for either — comes a step closer with a little-noted provision in U.S. realignment plans announced last …