The USS Shiloh, a guided-missile cruiser, leads U.S. Navy and

Japanese Self-Defense Force ships assigned to aircraft carrier

USS George Washington, South China Sea: Beijing is warning

Japan not to rest easy with U.S. ties.

Continued Dependence on America is Bad for Japan (Global Times, People's Republic of China)

Should Japan drop its long-standing close ties with the United States and seek a better accommodation with China? For China's state-run Global Times, Yang Bojiang, a professor at Beijing's University of International Relations, warns Tokyo that its military alliance with Washington is dividing the Asia-Pacific region, leaving Japan isolated, and damaging not only Japan's long-term interests, but America's as well.

By Yang Bojiang*

October 12, 2012

People's Republic of China - Global Times - Original Article (English)

Joint exercises between the U.S. and Japan held last month reflect subtle changes in the Asia-Pacific, particularly Tokyo's desire to find new ways to counterbalance China's comprehensive rise.

Japan is lifting the self-imposed ban on boosting its military power and in the name of providing technical assistance, is providing military aid to other parties to the disputes in the South China Sea and is strengthening relations with the United States.

The exercise also reflects that Japan is isolated in this region, and that the resources available to Japan are limited. Its close U.S. ties are a double-edged sword.

Recent moves by the U.S. and Japan, including joint military exercises, are not conducive to Asia-Pacific political harmony and economic cooperation. Rather, these could lead to confrontations between regional groupings. America's allies are being urged to choose sides, putting them in a rather uncomfortable position. 

America is partial to Japan. That isn't only bad for Japan's relationship with China, South Korea and Russia, but it complicates America's ties to these countries. This inevitably results in reduced room to maneuver for the United States.

Relying on the United States will only prove a temporary help to Japanese strategists. The long term consequences are likely to be self-destructive. Depending on the United States means obeying the United States. That will leave Japan increasingly isolated in Asia. And dependency on America is contrary Japan's long-standing goal of political autonomy and diplomatic independence.

The only way forward is to find a diplomatic, face-to-face solution to the Diaoyu Islands dispute [known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands dispute]. What Japan should do is return to the position it held before the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea went into effect in 1982.

Posted by Worldmeets.US

Japan didn't deny the existence of the Diaoyu Islands dispute during negotiations with China in 1972 and talks on the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1978.

There will be a long transitional period until the Diaoyu Islands dispute is properly resolved. During this time, guaranteeing close cooperation and limiting the fallout from these problems will be important for both China and Japan.

*Yang Bojiang is a professor at the University of International Relations, Beijing

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