Japan gives green light to shoot down North Korean missiles
John Watanabe ■ Writing in Diplomatic Courier last August, Joshua Archer of the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) admitted that “regional powers will view the new Aegis-equipped destroyers as a part of the US missile defense infrastructure as much as they will perceive them to be Japanese.” He added that “the Chinese government will view the expansion of Japan’s Aegis-equipped fleet as a countermeasure to its own missiles.” Archer’s comments highlight the fact that the US and Japan are hypocritically using the current North Korean missile launches—which were provoked by the US and of which Japan was politely informed beforehand—as a pretext to accelerate the re-militarisation of Japan, whose real target is not North Korea’s rudimentary missile program, but China and Russia. The US is actively encouraging an aggressive military posture by Japan as part of Washington’s “pivot to Asia,” a comprehensive effort aimed at militarily, diplomatically and economically isolating and undermining China.
James Cogan ■ US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel used his weekend visit to Japan, ahead of his first official visit to China which began yesterday, to threaten the Beijing regime over its territorial disputes with Tokyo and with the Philippines. Hagel’s visits are part of a broader diplomatic offensive by Washington and its allies to blaze the trail for Barack Obama’s tour of Asia, which starts on April 22 and will take him to Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia. The aim of the diplomacy is to underscore US determination to press ahead with its so-called “pivot” or “rebalance” to the region, which is focussed on undermining China’s influence and militarily encircling it. Hagel’s language toward China was menacing and provocative.