In a move that signals Japan’s return to its bad boy days prior to the World War II (WWII), the country recently came up with three aggressive security documents ostensibly to enhance its national security. On December 16, Japan’s Cabinet approved the National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy and the Defense Buildup Program in response to what the country says are changing global security dynamics, particularly in the Indo-Pacific.
The strategies spell out a raft of measures that Japan proposes in order to safeguard its national security. On the surface, these include strengthening diplomacy and security cooperation with its partners, particularly the Japan-U.S. Alliance, and maintaining and protecting the international order based on universal values and rules.
Experts see the strategies as marking the return of Japan’s nationalism after decades of taking a low profile post WWII. The country has been comfortable all these years, secure in the fact that the U.S. is watching its back. Under the U.S. Forces Japan, the former is obliged to provide Japan with maritime defense, ballistic missile defense, domestic air control, communications security, and disaster response. But Uncle Sam is not in the business of giving free lunches.
The U.S. is hyping the Japanese paranoia, jealousy and insecurity against China for hefty profits. The strategies have proposed to double Japan’s military defense budget, breaking its decades-old spending curbs ostensibly to strengthen its military defenses against a rising China. It is payback time for Japan. Japan is the U.S.’s major ally in Asia, and is beholden to the superpower for its patronage over the decades.
The U.S. is currently using Japan as a pawn to contain the so called China threat in the wealthy Indo-Pacificregion. It is not by coincidence that on December 17, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen led a delegation to Japan aimed at pledging deeper security cooperation between the two partners. It is also instructive that the two have no diplomatic relations, and were only brought together by the U.S. inspired “China threat”.
The veil of deception around Japan’s new security strategies is totally exposed when juxtaposed with the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the collective strategy of its supposed threat. For starters, analysts see Japan’s strategies as a direct response to the GSI. On August 4, 2022 an article appearing in the U.S. Institute of Peace titled, “How Should the U.S. Respond to China’s ‘Global Security Initiative?”, cautioned that as Beijing promotes its concept of global security, Washington should project a positive vision for the international rules-based order.
These are unilateral rules defined by the U.S. that do not take into consideration the priorities and concerns of other countries outside its realm of influence. One of the excuses Japan has used in formulating its new strategies is China’s failure to deter escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war. But events following the onset of the war clearly show that the U.S. is actually the cause of this proxy war. Worse, the superpower has thwarted all entreaties and admonitions from both China and the international community to lead in peaceful negotiations to end the war.
When creating the GSI, China was cognizant of the fact that its security was closely intertwined with that of the rest of the world. While Japan’s security strategies are inward looking and nationalistic, the GSI is an all-encompassing strategy that takes into consideration the fears and aspirations of the global community.
The GSI is really a practical solution to world peace, security and development, and not a tool for maintaining or perpetuating hegemony. The initiative strives to meet the pressing need of the international community to maintain world peace and prevent conflicts and wars. The GSI is rooted in true multilateralism and appeals to all countries to abide by the UN Charter and reject the zero-sum game and bloc confrontation.
The GSI is underpinned by “six commitments”. These include staying committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and, abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
China’s security initiative also stresses the legitimate security concerns of all countries, seeks to peacefully resolve differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation and, seeks to maintain security in both traditional and non-traditional domains.
It does not get more comprehensive than that. Unlike Japan’s militarism, the GSI does not mention the use of military hardware or even technology in enhancing either China’s defence or of any other part in the world. The GSI appeals to the goodwill of nations and the fact that we are a global village where a war in one part of the world has ramifications worldwide.
A good example is definitely the Russia-Ukraine war, which has resulted to spiraling inflation and even lack of some basic foodstuffs in many countries. In the words of Chinese President Xi Jinping, “countries are like passengers aboard the same ship who share the same destiny. For the ship to navigate the storm and sail toward a bright future, all passengers must pull together.”
