President Trump’s response to Kim Jong-Un’s recent missile party neither shows lack of a plan nor lack of respect for Japan; it show patience and insight. Gaining and maintaining trust and respect in difficult situations requires sureness in action and… Read More ›
For unknown reasons, many Western political analysts made mistakes in understanding the Washington-Pyongyang relation (e.g. forecasting bloody nose strike, but being shockingly embarrassed by the Trump-Kim Singapore summit), and then the Pyongyang-Beijing relation (portraying a tension, but being surprisingly slapped… Read More ›
China is taking a turn for the better over North Korea’s “Rocket Man”. Stronger sanctions, limits on trade, cutting off oil, halting banking—it was all a wise move on China’s part. At the United Nations, North Korea made no new… Read More ›
With TPP’s immanent floundering in the Pacific, China attempts to step into America’s shoes. But, those are big shoes to fill. As big of a deal as Asia thinks itself to be, any trade deal needs to include the Americas… Read More ›
The Japanese government said on Wednesday it is ready to provide Vietnam with new patrol ships, in its latest step to boost the maritime law-enforcement capabilities of countries locked in territorial rows with China. On Tuesday, Japan agreed to provide… Read More ›
Abe’s landslide re-election in Japan, a US shield deployment in South Korea, and $2B USD pumping into Taiwan’s navy won’t exactly be sweet music to countries on the other side of the line. China isn’t in a position to make… Read More ›
Since Taiwan’s election, China and the KMT-Nationalists have been largely silent. While the Chinese aren’t spending as much money at home, and while the Chinese economy looks evermore shaky, Xi Jinping has no problem dealing with Egypt or declaring all… Read More ›
Tokyo approves 5.05tn yen on defence spending to counter growing Chinese influence in the region. Japan has approved its biggest ever defence budget, as it attempts to counter an increasingly assertive China and push through an unpopular move to relocate… Read More ›
By reiterating Japan’s “unshakable” apology for World War II and legalising the necessary enhancements to operate its Self-Defence Forces like a normal national armed force of a state, Shinzo Abe (Prime Minister 2006-7, 2012-present) has done a meritorious job to… Read More ›
The following is based on translations of reports in Chinese media: A report in Chinese media says that Japan and Australia were the only two countries that expressed concern about China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea, along with… Read More ›
Over the past several months a gradual but significant shift has taken place in China’s policy toward Japan. The change is a result of Beijing’s recognition that its unrelenting pressure on Tokyo since the Japanese Government purchased several of the… Read More ›
The gear shift of Asia’s growth in the decades to come is in the hand of Tokyo as Japan is in control of the formation of the emerging India-China-Japan (I+C+J) power structure in Asia. In its “World 2050” research report,… Read More ›
U.S. Secretary of Defence Ash Carter said the U.S. was concerned by China’s land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea and by the possibility that construction there has a military dimension. Speaking to reporters after meeting Japanese Defence Minister… Read More ›
The United States would welcome a Japanese extension of air patrols into the South China Sea as a counterweight to a growing fleet of Chinese vessels pushing China’s territorial claims in the region, a senior U.S. Navy officer told Reuters…. Read More ›
In my post “China’s Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” on January 28, 2012, I said: “Decades ago, Japan shed lots of blood to fight for the establishment of its Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere but failed disastrously. However, it seems that… Read More ›
After two years of waxing poetic at home about a “China Dream,” Xi Jinping wants to enchant the entire Asia region—and is dangling $1.25 trillion to make sure he does. “China’s development will bring huge opportunities and benefits to the… Read More ›
China‘s President Xi Jinping was quoted as saying, “Some people worry that China’s economic growth will fall further, can it climb over the ridge? There are indeed risks, but it’s not so scary. Even at growth of around 7 percent,… Read More ›
In order to secure a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe agreed to a significant concession in Tokyo’s ongoing dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands, according to Japanese media outlets. As Shannon noted earlier today… Read More ›
According to a popular Chinese article, China is certain to fight six wars in the coming five decades with seven of its neighbours: Russia, Taiwan, Japan, India, Mongolia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Russia is China’s close ally. As for the… Read More ›
As far back as January 2012, I pointed out “China’s desire to establish an East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere,” which Japan shed a lot of blood to establish decades ago, but failed. ASEAN plus China, Japan and Korea (APT – ASEAN Plus… Read More ›
The US wants India to encircle China in China’s west; Japan wants India to join it in confronting China, Russia wants to have a Russia-China-India alliance while China wants to solve border disputes to improve ties with India. When Modi… Read More ›
The following is a translation from Chinese media: China’s qianzhan.com says in its report today that China’s Kaixuan-1 oil rig is on its way to the area near the disputed Diaoyu Islands (known as Senkakus in Japan), accompanied by quite… Read More ›
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged an upgrade of economic and security ties with India, saying Japan would double investment and expand defense cooperation amid concerns about China’s growing influence in the region. Abe and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at… Read More ›
Traffic at the Maritime Self-Defence Force base at Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, is typically dominated by Japanese and U.S. warships, but in July it saw an unusual variety of vessel. An Indian frigate and destroyer docked en route to joint exercises… Read More ›
I described the prospects of a thaw in Sino-Japanese relations in a previous post due to Japanese Prime Minister’s verbal message to Chinese President Xi Jinping expressing his hope for a summit meeting with Xi in Beijing in the period… Read More ›
The Philippines and Japan are moving ahead with strengthening their security and economic cooperation, with Japan giving defence equipment to the Philippines and invoking the right of collective self-defence in the maritime dispute with China. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III… Read More ›
In my book “Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements” (its expanded second edition will soon be released with heavy discount for two weeks in memory of the Tiananmen Protests), I said that when the major reformist Zhao Ziyang fell into disgrace due to… Read More ›
China’s soaring military spending — up 12.3% this year – and aggressive gestures in the region could be setting the scene for major conflict. With various countries feuding over Pacific territory, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe compared the ratcheting tensions… Read More ›
The dispute between China and Japan showed no signs of abatement yesterday, after Japan was reported by domestic media to have taken steps to ban the export of specialist pornography to China. Japan is believed to also be behind the… Read More ›
Japanese companies‘ investments in Southeast Asia surged last year to almost three times the amount invested in China, after relations between Beijing and Tokyo soured in 2012 and Chinese labor costs rose, a government agency of Japan said on Friday…. Read More ›
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and not necessarily those of China Daily Mail. The diplomatic standoff between China and Japan is drifting in the direction of military conflict. At the World Economic Forum in… Read More ›
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and not necessarily those of China Daily Mail. Shinzo Abe‘s affront seems to be aimed at China. However, for my part, I consider his action is planned to keep… Read More ›
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said China’s continued economic growth will require building trust, not tensions, with other countries, according to an interview broadcast on Sunday. A steady Chinese military buildup over the last 20 years is a serious concern… Read More ›
China took its propaganda war with Japan to the United Nations on Wednesday, questioning Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe‘s motives for visiting a controversial war shrine and calling on him to correct his “erroneous outlook” on history. Abe’s December 26… Read More ›
I refer to the AFP news report, “Germany urges Japan to deal ‘honestly’ with WWII past”, December 31. To quote from the said article: “Germany said Monday it tried to deal “honestly” with its World War II past and urged… Read More ›
Sending Caroline Kennedy, a household name in the United States, to Japan as the ambassador indicates that President Obama has realised there is no better choice than using the tension in East Asia to capture and retain the attention of… Read More ›
Japanese and South Korean military aircraft flew through disputed air space over the East China Sea without informing China, officials said on Thursday, challenging a new Chinese air defense zone that has increased regional tensions and sparked concerns of an… Read More ›
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in an interview published on Saturday, said Japan was ready to be more assertive in guarding against what he said might be an attempt by China to use force to attain its diplomatic goals. But a… Read More ›
The Philippines and Japan’s charm offensives towards China appear to have failed as Beijing seeks to isolate both powers within the region. In recent weeks both the Philippines and Japan have made a number of overtures to China aimed at… Read More ›
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been calling for more dialogue with Beijing since he came to office in December 2012, the same month a Chinese government plane violated Japan’s airspace over the Senkaku and Diaoyu islands. China had been… Read More ›
China summoned Japan’s ambassador on Thursday to lodge a strong complaint after two Japanese cabinet ministers publicly paid their respects at a controversial Tokyo shrine for war dead, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. The ministers’ visit to the Yasukuni Shrine… Read More ›
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may make an offering at Yasukuni Shrine later this week, media reported on Wednesday. The news comes as a surprise, because Abe himself had previously made clear that he would skip the traditional visit to… Read More ›
The Abe government’s disastrous public diplomacy risks alienating not just China but also the US. Japan’s public diplomacy hovers between the ludicrous and the sinister. In recent months, the country has specialised in foreign policy gaffes that seem designed to give maximum… Read More ›
Japan may nationalise hundreds of unclaimed islands off its coast in a bid to bolster its territorial claims, reports said, in a move that could complicate already simmering relations with China over existing maritime disputes. Quoting government sources, the Yomiuri… Read More ›
Piqued over Japan’s warm ties with India, an influential Chinese daily said New Delhi‘s wisdom lies in dealing with its disputes with Beijing calmly, undisturbed by “internal and international provocateurs“. As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh undertook a visit to Tokyo amid reports of defence deals between the two… Read More ›
The Chinese Premier has used his visit to the German city where Allied terms of surrender were dictated to Tokyo, to send a stark message on recent territorial disputes. Premier Li Keqiang made use of his visit to Germany to… Read More ›
China’s Global Times has issued a broadside at Japan over the independence of the Ryukyu Islands: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently said, “We must make clear to the world Japan’s positions on the Ryukyus” in order to negate China’s… Read More ›
Three Chinese ships entered waters near the disputed Senkaku islands, known as Diaoyu in Chinese, and recognised by Japan as its territory. The Chinese met with Japanese coast guard ships patrolling the area. The Chinese ships were inside the 12… Read More ›
Japan is using “value diplomacy” to create the geopolitical encirclement of China, according to China’s state-run media. That point was emphasized across the communist nation’s media spectrum as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began a historic seven-day visit to Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. What makes China most… Read More ›
A group of lawmakers including Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker Hidehisa Otsuji (front 3rd L), Japan Restoration Party member Takeo Hiranuma (front L) and LDP member Sanae Takaichi (front 2nd L) are led by a shinto priest as… Read More ›
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