This week, significant advancements were made to strengthen the US’s strategic status in the Asia-Pacific region. This follows the instigation of a new control structure for American forces in Japan and an additional $500 million devoted to military support for the Philippines. These actions, according to Washington, are a response to China’s contentious actions in the South and East China Seas, as well as escalating security threats from Russia and North Korea.
A new operational command is set to be established as part of the American forces’ restructuring in Japan, positioned to wage a war concurrently with a new Japanese joint command. According to US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, this represents the most considerable alteration to US Forces Japan since its inception, and one of the most robust strengthening initiatives in the US-Japan military relationship in seven decades.
This pivotal change denotes a continued step away from the pacifist principles entrenched in the Japanese constitution after World War II, a policy that has gradually been disregarded over the previous decade. This week also saw high-level dialogue between the US and Japan about ‘extended deterrence’, with Washington confirming its willingness to deploy nuclear weapons to ward off attacks on its allies.
The pledged additional funds to the Philippines, for the military and coast guard operations, signifies the increasing security partnership between Washington and Manila, a relationship which has grown since the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr began in 2022. Japan and the Philippines have recently entered into a mutual agreement regarding security and defence collaboration.
These developments, as per Beijing’s criticism, are interpreted as a primarily US-initiated attempt to form an Asian Nato equivalent, with the intent to contain and encircle China. It calls out Washington and Tokyo for ‘constructing imaginary threats’, while cautioning Manila that accepting US funding implies a prospective ‘heightened insecurity’ for the country.
However, Beijing’s own actions have in part, led its neighbouring countries to look for more robust security measures from the US. Beijing has attempted to claim sovereignty over areas in the South and East China Seas, taking over small islands, reefs, and maritime features, in spite of a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in 2016 that such claims were inconsistent with international law.
A heated clash transpired near the contested Second Thomas Shoal in June involving the Chinese coast guard and the Philippine navy, causing injury to a Philippine seaman. The parties later came to a tentative accord, though the root of the disagreement remains unsettled.
The intensification of military presence in this area potentially spirals into what’s referred to as a “security dilemma”. It is when the measures taken for the enhancement of one party’s security invokes countermeasures from the other, inadvertently undermining their own security. As China and the US fortify their strategic standpoints in this region, it is imperative for them to sustain a focus on their diplomatic affairs and augment their discussions.