With China increasingly wary of the developments taking place on its Pacific seaboard, it would perhaps be in a much better frame of mind to listen to Indian concerns.
Like in the 2011 edition of the Defence White Paper, this year too, the report warns that China’s military movements are “a matter of concern” for the Asian region and the international community, and “should require prudent analysis.”
Even though both the national and metropolitan governments might eventually decide to come to an agreement, the possible repercussions on Japan’s bilateral relations with China and Taiwan might still create serious hurdles in proceeding with the nationalization plan for the Senkakus.
Japan’s amendment of its atomic energy law with the inclusion of a “national security” clause is being viewed within the country as a ploy to pave the way for the acquisition of nuclear weapons.
While the Japanese government is facing pressure from the Tokyo Metropolitan government, Ishigaki municipal assembly and the main opposition LDP to nationalise the Senkaku Islands, a section of Japanese people have been asking it not to provoke China.
The massive earthquake and tsunami which triggered the Fukushima nuclear crisis on March 11, 2011 has shattered the Japanese people’s faith in the safety of nuclear power generation.
The March 2011 triple disaster in Japan obligated a response from the US, its long-time ally. The US disaster assistance to Japan went beyond the customary nature of the countries’ relationship, and was conspicuous for the scale of military involvement that was embedded in the US-Japan alliance. The success of the US asistance programme Operation Tomodachi is attributed to interoperability between the defence forces of the two allies.
This Issue Brief assesses the pitfalls and opportunities as well as the likely course of action that the Japanese political leadership is going to define in the coming months.
The issue of “comfort women” continues to haunt Japan’s relations with its neighbour, South Korea. Koreans are unable to forget the atrocities committed by the Japanese military during the long colonial rule from 1910-1945 over the entire Korean peninsula.
