Japan warned of harming regional security after FM’s visit to US warship

Japan is fractious in closely working with the US to strengthen their alliance’s deterrence in the Asia- Pacific region, which has sparked deep concern among its neighbors as the USJapan aggressive military cooperation would worsen the security environment in the region, analysts warned after the Japanese foreign minister inspected a US nuclear- powered aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean.

Japanese media reported on Sunday that Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel inspected the US nuclear- powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday. A strike group led by the vessel held joint drills with Japan’s Maritime Self- Defense Force in waters near the country earlier this month.

Hayashi said Japan will continue to closely work with the US to further enhance their alliance’s deterrence and response capability. He added Japan will also comprehensively strengthen its defense capability, media reported.

There is no doubt that the military cooperation is targeted at containing China and Russia, said Da Zhigang, director and research fellow at the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

But this cannot cover up the fact that Japan and the US are countries that keep deteriorating regional stability by “showing off their muscles” and trying to bring the “violent multilateral organization” NATO into the region, Liu Jiangyong, vice dean of the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University, pointed out, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, Japanese media outlet Nikkei revealed that Japan and the US will hold joint military drills in Hokkaido this fall, with the twoweek exercises expected to involve more than 4,000 personnel.

Not only will US- Japan bilateral military drills increase, Japan is also likely to expand and deepen other military cooperation with the US, and its joining of the Five Eyes alliance in the future cannot be ruled out, Da predicted.

The US hopes Japan can become its most competent tool in East Asia, but by opening the Pandora’s box of military expansion in Japan it could have a very negative and dangerous impact on the future international order and landscape, Liu warned. He urged Japan to get back to the right track which really suits its national interests and regional security with calm thinking and comprehensive judgment.