Some vital advice for US president

Peace or militarism

Just two days before US President Barack Obama's visit to Japan on his four-nation tour of Asia, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japan's militarist past which honors 14 Class-A war criminals. On Tuesday, 146 Japanese lawmakers visited the shrine again. A couple of days before that, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera attended a ceremony to begin construction of a radar base on Yonaguni Island, just 150 km from China's Diaoyu Islands.

The three moves are the latest in a series of provocative actions taken by Japan that have escalated tensions with its neighbors, especially China and the Republic of Korea, over territorial and historical disputes. Irrespective of whether he chooses to be a neutral mediator eager to ease the tensions or a supporter of Japan, Obama's role will be vital to the stability and political balance in East Asia.

Although US-Japan ties are critical to the strategic structure of the Asia-Pacific region since both countries are powerful in their own ways, Tokyo has been questioning the dominant role of Washington in the relationship by taking frequent actions to prove its importance. For instance, both countries still disagree over tariff and auto safety standards in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, something which Obama has promised to address during his visit to Japan.

More importantly, the US should be aware of the potential military threat that Japan poses to other countries in the region and take upon itself the responsibility of eliminating them, because it is supposed to guide postwar Japan's policies. Judging from what Abe has done over the past year, his aggressive military moves make Japan's self-proclaimed "active pacifism" sound less convincing.

The fact is that Japan has kept on increasing its annual defense budget. It has also been trying to acquire the right to collective self-defense, something that international treaties deny the former Axis powers for fear that they would amass weapons again and start another devastating war.

On one hand, Abe has repeatedly played up the "China threat" theory to win the support of Japan's allies. On the other, he has been urging the US to grant Japan the status of a "normal" country and end the postwar "discrimination" against it. The problem is that the Japanese interpretation of a "normal country" includes lifting the self-imposed ban on exercising the right to collective self-defense, which is something the international community will never accept.

History tells us that Japan is highly likely to relive its notorious militarist past if leaders like Abe are at the helm. Japan's ambitions have been exposed by its attempts to blur its wartime crimes and create tensions with its neighbors. And Japan's move to "nationalize" China's Diaoyu Islands in 2012 is an apt example of its militarist designs. If the US chooses to turn a blind eye to Japan's provocative moves and keeps sending out confusing signals that Japan might take as an encouragement, Tokyo will become the destabilizing link in East Asia.

Therefore, as a country that exercises great influence on Japan and claims to safeguard peace and stability in the world, the US is obliged to take measures to drive some sense into Japanese right-wing forces instead of appearing to support their absurd policies. Even if its "rebalancing" to Asia strategy is aimed at consolidating its presence in the Asia-Pacific and containing China, the US should at least rebalance US-Japan relations to ensure that Tokyo doesn't undermine its strategy.

It is thus important that the US government abide by the following rules. First, it should stop encouraging Japan and "exploiting" its strategic value to contain China and other Asian countries. Second, the US should expose Japan's diplomatic double standard and take measures to stop its expansionist policy. Third, it should ensure that Japan uses its economic and technological advantages to contribute to, rather than thwart, the development of the region and the rest of the world.

By and large, Obama's visit to Asia, especially Japan, will have a big impact on the US' "rebalancing" to Asia strategy and the stability of East Asia. So it's time the US advised Japan to refrain from taking provocative actions against China and desisted from reaching an agreement with Japan that could jeopardize the security and stability of the Asia-Pacific region.

The author is a professor at Chinese People's Liberation Army University of International Relations.