Japan: Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Michael Auslin, American Enterprise Institute | May 9, 2008
Japan increasingly faces a dilemma in its relationship with China. ++ On the one hand intensifying already close economic relations with China is vital for the continued recovery of Japan's own economy. ++ On the other hand China's growth gives it greater regional power at the expense of Japanese influence, and creates new security concerns. ++ Japan should confidently embrace its "role as a democratic bulwark in Asia", so that it can positively shape China's development.
Wed, May 21st 2008, 13:31
Ilyas M. Mohsin, PPP, Platinum Contributor (296)
Communist China suffered at the hands of its neighbours who appeared to be acting as the proxies of US in the cold war days. In this context, Japan did not enjoy very healthy relations with China. The ideological /
systemic differences may have played an important role in the adoption of such an approach by the parties concerned.
China having giant-strides in the last fifteen years is now working quietly for challanging the US' supremacy. This has been facilitated by the unwise policy pusued by the US Administartion in the last 7 years whereby the only superpower has lost face/ credibility etc all over the world. Over a million deaths in Iraq/ Afghanistan while under'occupation', atrocities in Gitmo, Abu Ghuraib and Bagram bring the US, it is beleieved, at par with Gulag of Soviet-fame. In the process the US has lost a lot of money and power. However, its powerful MNCs have made tremendous windfall gains in Iraq/ Afghanistan including the oil-lobby which is alleged to have close connections with the Bush-family.
Japan will have to readjust her approach to the changing ground realities in Asia despite its special relationship fostered after the Atomic Bomb-tragedy.