The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is aggressive, but Japan has two powerful tools to counteract the CCP, one of which is to “cut down friendship”. In the Art of War, Sun Tzu said, “The first step is to attack strategy, the second step is to attack friendship. In this article, we will roughly discuss Japan’s “fencing” against the CCP today.
First of all, Japan tightly rammed the “Japan-US axis”.
Today’s world situation has changed profoundly, in a certain sense, the “Japan-U.S. axis” has become the foundation of Japan’s statehood. Abe understands this, and when Trump was elected president of the United States, he broke the rules and went to New York to pay a visit, establishing good personal relations and urging Trump to confront the Chinese Communist Party (see the author’s article “Abe urges Trump to encircle the Chinese Communist Party”). Now, Kan will be the first foreign head of state to be received by Biden at the White House. Japan has taken great pains and spared no effort in its relations with the United States. This point is clear to everyone, not much to say in this article.
Second, Japan has been promoting the “Quadrilateral Security Mechanism” (The Quad) between the United States, Japan, India and Australia, focusing on developing bilateral military cooperation within it.
The countries in the Indo-Pacific region are the first to feel the pressure of the Chinese Communist Party’s global expansion, for example, Australia’s policy toward China has been significantly adjusted since 2017 (see my article “Australia’s Awakening to Hit the Chinese Communist Party” for details). This laid a solid foundation for the establishment of the “quadrilateral security mechanism” between the United States, Japan, India and Australia. However, for various reasons, the “quadrilateral security mechanism” developed into the “Indo-Pacific version of NATO”, there is still a lot of way to go, therefore, Japan’s major strategy is to focus on the development of bilateral cooperation with the United States, India and Australia under the framework of the Indo-Pacific strategy.
One of them is Japan and Australia. In November 2020, Australian Prime Minister Morrison visited Japan and the two countries announced that they had agreed in principle to sign a reciprocal access agreement (RAA). If signed, Japan and Australia would form a paramilitary alliance. This would be the first deep defense agreement reached between Japan and the United States since the 1960 Status of Forces in Japan Agreement, marking the first time in 60 years that the Japanese government has allowed foreign forces other than the United States to operate on its territory. It is also the first similar defense agreement between Asia-Pacific countries other than the U.S., which is so significant that it has been called a “groundbreaking defense agreement” by some media.
Previously, in 2007, Japan and Australia established a mechanism for “2+2” talks between foreign ministers and defense ministers; in the same year, the two countries signed a military cooperation agreement that allowed for joint military exercises, formal military exchanges and the possibility for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to conduct counter-terrorism training on Australian soil. In 2014, the Japan-Australia relationship was upgraded to a “special strategic partnership” and the two sides signed a Defense, Science and Technology Agreement to facilitate defense technology cooperation between the two countries. Since then, Japan-Australia military cooperation has expanded to include the sharing of military materiel and munitions after Japan eased restrictions on arms and equipment exports. As a result, Japan-Australia military relations have continued to gain breakthroughs.
Second, Japan and India. In 2006, Indian Prime Minister Singh visited Japan and the two countries said they would build a “strategic global partnership”. The following year, Abe visited India and proposed the “Arc of Freedom and Prosperity” (the original Indo-Pacific Strategy), saying that “the global strategic partnership between Japan and India is a key focus”; in the same year, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces participated in the U.S.-India “Malabar” joint military exercise for the first time. In 2008, Japan and India concluded the Joint Declaration on Security to strengthen military exchanges, making India the third country besides the United States and Australia to have a security agreement with Japan.
Since Modi became Prime Minister of India in 2014, Japan-India relations have warmed rapidly. 2019 saw the establishment of a “special strategic and global partnership” between the two countries (India has such relations with only two countries, the other being Russia); in that year, Japan-India established a “2+2” meeting mechanism between the foreign ministers and defense ministers, and India announced the establishment of a “2+2” meeting mechanism between the two countries. “The agreement was signed by Japan and India on September 9, 2020, commenting that it “will substantially expand the strategic reach of both militaries: Japan can use Indian facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and India can use Japanese naval facilities in Djibouti.” India becomes Japan’s sixth (quasi-)military ally, having previously signed this agreement with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Australia.
Japan-India military cooperation is of great value to both countries. For example, Japan’s military equipment development capabilities, India is a major importer of weapons and equipment, has been the pursuit of “localization”, the two countries cooperation opened up new possibilities for both sides in the development of armaments and weapons.
According to Japanese media reports, Kan is scheduled to visit India and the Philippines in late April after his visit to the United States. There should be no doubt about the further development of Japan-India relations.
Once again, Japan is actively developing military relations with some of the major powers in NATO.
Here are just a few examples. One of them is Japan and Britain. On February 3 this year, Japan and Britain held diplomatic and defense “2+2” talks by video, and both sides agreed to implement a joint training program with Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) on the occasion of Britain’s dispatch of aircraft carriers to the Indo-Pacific region, which the British defense minister described as “the most important deployment of the Royal Navy in a generation. The two sides agreed to implement joint training with Japan’s Self-Defense Forces on the occasion of Britain’s dispatch of aircraft carriers to the Indo-Pacific region, which the British defense minister said was “the most important deployment of the Royal Navy in generations. The report said that the two sides agreed during the talks on the situation in the East and South China Seas to oppose so-called unilateral changes to the status quo. The two sides also discussed the Taiwan issue and the Myanmar issue. Obviously, the implication against the Chinese Communist Party is extremely strong.
Former Japanese ambassador to the UK, Kyoichi Hayashi, has described today’s Japan-UK relationship as a “new type of alliance”. In July 2013, the two sides signed an agreement to promote the joint development of military equipment. 2014 saw the start of joint research on missile technology, the first time Japan and a country other than the U.S. had cooperated on missile research; the two heads of state also agreed to hold “2+2” talks between foreign and defense cabinet ministers. In October-November 2016, the British Air Force visited Japan and conducted the first joint exercise between the two countries, the first time the Japan Air Self-Defense Force conducted a joint exercise with a third country other than the U.S. on its home soil. The “2+2” talks agreed to implement a three-year defense cooperation plan and confirmed the first joint training of their land and maritime military forces next year, respectively.
With the CCP’s global expansion and war-wolf diplomacy, the UK has become the new vanguard in countering the CCP. As the CCP threat grows, it is not impossible for Japan and Britain to move toward an alliance. In February, the Nikkei Asian Review wrote that the relationship between Britain and Japan is increasingly resembling a new “quasi-alliance” that complements the “Japan-U.S. alliance,” and that Britain could also join the U.S.-Japan India and Australia “quadrilateral security dialogue” to jointly counter the maritime expansion of the Chinese Communist Party.
Second, Japan and France. In view of the international community’s tension over the CCP’s foreign expansion, especially the construction and militarization of artificial islands in the South China Sea, France has strengthened its military presence in the Indo-Pacific and issued an Indo-Pacific strategy document in 2018. Japan, on the other hand, is an important fulcrum of France’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
As early as 2013, during the visit of then French President Francois Hollande to Japan, the two countries decided to build a “special partnership of mutual trust” and formulated a “roadmap for Franco-Japanese cooperation from 2013 to 2018,” and also established a “2+2” consultation between foreign ministers and defense ministers. “In 2015, Japan and France signed an agreement on the transfer of military equipment and technology, and in 2018, the two countries signed the Agreement on the Mutual Provision of Material and Services (ACSA) for the mutual transfer of material and services between the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the French Army.
The French-led “La Perouse” naval exercise was held in the Bay of Bengal from April 5 to 7 this year with the participation of Japan, the United States, Australia and India. According to Kyodo News on April 1, Japan plans to hold a joint military exercise with the United States and France in May at Kirishima military base in southwestern Japan, which is a multi-service joint strategic deterrence exercise and the first time the French military participated in the military exercise in Japan. The French Navy Chief of Staff said the military exercise was “a message to China (Communist Party)”; the Asahi Shimbun quoted informed sources as saying that the three countries wanted to strengthen cooperation to contain the Chinese Communist Party. Undoubtedly, the military cooperation between Japan and France will become closer and closer.
On April 5, the Yomiuri Shimbun announced that Japan and Germany will hold their first “2+2” dialogue in mid-April, which is expected to discuss issues related to defense and the establishment of “a free and open Indo-Pacific region” and how to deal with The dialogue is expected to discuss topics such as defense and the creation of a “free and open Indo-Pacific region” and how to deal with the “increasingly assertive” Chinese Communist Party. Earlier, Germany also said it would send a destroyer to Asia in August to visit Japan and hold joint training with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and would also sail to the South China Sea to participate in freedom of navigation operations.
And on March 23, Japan and Germany also signed the “Information Protection Agreement”. According to the agreement, the exchange of military secrets and counter-terrorism information between Japan and Germany will become more convenient, and will also remove a major obstacle to the export of defense equipment from Japan to European countries. Previously, Japan had signed similar agreements with the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Although, Germany has always been moderate toward the Chinese Communist Party, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the most well-known pro-(Chinese) Communist among Western countries. But new changes in the situation are forcing Germany to change its own policy toward China. Last September, the German cabinet approved the Indo-Pacific Policy Guidelines, which for the first time considers the Indo-Pacific region as a priority for German diplomacy, including strengthening relations with democratic countries such as Japan and Australia, and sending warships to patrol the Indian Ocean and South China Sea to ensure free navigation in the waters.
In fact, Abe was active in developing Japan-Germany military cooperation at the beginning of his second term as prime minister. The Voice of America reported on July 28, 2017, that Japan and Germany had “secretly” signed a Defense Equipment Goods and Technology Transfer Agreement in Berlin (which had been under negotiation since 2015), with the intention of deepening defense technology cooperation between the two countries. Japan has signed similar agreements with the United States, Australia, India, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, and military interactions between Germany and Japan have been underway since 2014, when the Three Principles on Defense Equipment Transfers were established to replace the Three Principles on Arms Exports, which banned arms exports.
Chinese Communist Party experts believe that the main driving force for German-Japanese and even European military cooperation with Japan comes from Japan. Since taking office, the Abe administration has been committed to promoting foreign military cooperation and arms exports, and is militarily ambitious. According to Russian media, past experience shows that Japan’s desire to become partners with other countries is in most cases marked by technical cooperation. It has become Japan’s “routine” to further form military partnerships with other countries through military-technical cooperation.
Conclusion
For example, Japan has held “2+2” talks with Russia and Indonesia at the ministerial level, and Japan’s economic diplomacy has also been effective. The completion of the CPTPP has demonstrated Japan’s international influence.
In fact, Japan’s “felling of diplomatic ties” has been so effective that it has made the Chinese Communist Party extremely wary. What the Chinese Communist Party does not realize is that it is its own perverse actions that have made Japan’s “diplomacy” so smooth. Of course, Japan’s soft stance and flexible diplomacy are also one of the main reasons for its success.
Japan has a characteristic that it is not easy to set national goals, but once the national goals are set, it will make a solid long-term effort to push forward and make sure to make things happen.
As long as Japan recognizes the nature of the CCP and makes up its mind, dealing with the threat of the CCP is not an impossible task for Japan, though it is daunting. In addition to the “felling of diplomatic ties,” Japan has another major tool to counter the CCP, which will be discussed in another article.
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