By Global Times
Japan is increasingly trying to justify its ongoing militarization under the pretext of the so-called external threats. Looking around the region, it is Japan that is pushing the regional situation closer to the edge of danger, following the US strategy closely. Tokyo’s move deserves much vigilance. If it continues to act as a pawn of the US in the Asia-Pacific region to stir up trouble here, Japan must be wary of becoming a victim itself of the US or even the Ukraine of East Asia.
Concluding his recent G7 trip in Washington, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Saturday that he shared with the leaders of the bloc his “strong sense of crisis regarding the security environment in East Asia.” “Ukraine may be the East Asia of tomorrow,” the Japanese leader noted, adding that the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific are “inseparable.”
This is not the first time Kishida has made such a “warning.” In fact, since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, “East Asia is the Ukraine of tomorrow” has become one of his favorite phrases. For instance, he repeated the exact same view in his keynote speech at the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June and later that month at the NATO summit.
The message Kishida wants to convey is clear: It calls for more attention to the region and Japan’s so-called security concerns from the US and its NATO allies, which have been focusing on countering Russia in Europe since the war broke out. In particular, Kishida’s words are aimed at China. He is trying to convince other Western countries that China is the next “biggest challenge” that must be jointly dealt with by the West.
Such an idea was further hyped during the Japanese leader’s recent trip to Europe and the US. In the 2+2 meeting on Wednesday, Tokyo and Washington reached a consensus on how to handle Beijing, establishing a “strategic alliance” against it, the RFI reported.
Furthermore, by pushing for cooperation with Europe in realizing a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” Kishida attempts to bring more NATO members into the framework of its East Asia strategy and persuade them to strengthen military cooperation with Japan to confront China.
Lian Degui, the director of the Department of Japanese Studies at Shanghai International Studies University, said that by stating “East Asia is the Ukraine of tomorrow,” what Japan and the US mean is that they will hinder China’s reunification…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… – Global Times
Caravan to Midnight
We need your help to keep Caravan to Midnight going,
please consider donating to help keep independent media independent.