Japan's grand Asia-Pacific strategy

The unfolding of Japan's Asia-Pacific strategy is, to a large extent, centered on China and thus has an influence on China. In the economic field, Japan's regional cooperation policy (advocating an expanded East Asian Community and promoting the TPP negotiations) will dilute China's influence and make China face the pressure of an economic and trade hegemony led by the US and Japan. In a broad sense, this is a game scrambling for the leading role in East Asian cooperation.

Japan is trying to portray China as a revisionist country in the Asia Pacific, and intends to depict the competition between China and Japan as a battle between two forces, one that seeks to maintain the status quo, and one that seeks to challenge the existing order. In light of the Sino-Japanese disputes concerning maritime rights and interests and the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands, Japanese politicians have not only called for the US to jointly contain China's "expansionist behavior", they also went to Europe to garner sympathy.

Meanwhile, Japan is making every effort to uphold the US' hegemony in the Asia-Pacific, and China faces increasing security and structural pressure from the Japan-US alliance. Japan's Asia-Pacific strategy has added to China's geopolitical difficulties and hindered China's rise in the region.

Moreover, Japan's military adjustment in a bid to match the US' strategic rebalancing toward Asia will have a remarkable impact on China's surrounding security environment. Japan is determined to develop a Dynamic Defense Force that can integrate its command, combat and intelligence with the those of US. Japan wants to ensure that it is capable of "island defense", including the Diaoyu Islands, using its own forces, namely the Japan Self-Defense Forces, while ensuring that it has the US' support should a conflict escalate.

The Self-Defense Forces will play a role in military surveillance, anti-submarine, air defense at sea, information sharing and become an important part within the framework of US-Japan alliance in response to China's military buildup and activities. The US and Japanese forces want to forge a linked unity to deal with China and blockade the Chinese navy and air force inside the island chain.

This means that for a long time to come, Japan's strategy toward China will feature systematic competition, multilateral containment, military prevention, diplomatic distraction and economic competition, which in turn means more uncertainties for Sino-Japanese relations in a complicated transition period.

The author is an associate researcher on Japanese studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article is an excerpt from the Annual Report on Development of Asia-Pacific 2013.

(China Daily 01/18/2013 page9)