US, Japan war of words with China aflame over disputed islands
A simmering territorial and maritime dispute in Asia erupted at the weekend as Washington warned Beijing it would back Japan militarily in any confrontation arising from China’s latest unilateral assertion of its claims.
The Obama administration weighed in after China moved to in effect “rope off” the seas and skies around the disputed Japanese-administered Senkaku islands in the east China Sea.
In a tough statement reflecting the surprise and alarm felt in Washington and Tokyo at China’s perceived sudden escalation of the dispute, Chuck Hagel, defense secretary, said the US was “deeply concerned” at the development, in which China appears to be trying to control who can enter and leave the area.
The imposition of the zone was a “destabilizing attempt to alter the status quo in the region”, Hagel said. “This unilateral action increases the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculations … We are in close consultation with our allies and partners in the region, including Japan. We remain steadfast in our commitments.”
Hagel reminded Beijing that the remote Senkaku islands, known as Diaoyu in China, are covered by the 1952 US-Japan security treaty, under which the US is committed to fighting alongside Japan to repel any “common danger”.
Washington’s swift intervention showed just how easily a little local difficulty in the volatile east Asian region could potentially trigger a superpower clash. The Senkaku stand-off is but one of several similar disputes pitting a more assertive China against its less powerful neighbors.
Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan (all US allies) are – like Japan – enmeshed in arguments with Beijing over relatively obscure but potentially strategic bits of maritime real estate.
These numerous flashpoints have led the Japanese government to describe the regional security environment as “increasingly severe”. In response, Tokyo has been busily building up mutual defence and security ties across south-east Asia, and with Australia and India, as a hedge against Beijing.
For its part, China has sought to enlist Laos, Cambodia, North Korea and Myanmar as de facto buffer states while projecting itself as a rival to the US as a “blue-water” Pacific power.
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