US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter kicked off his tour in South Korea on Thursday following a visit to neighboring Japan. The deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system is widely expected to be discussed. However, South Korea insists that Carter's visit will not include talks on THAAD. There are no requests, no deliberations and no decisions made over the system, which is considered a diplomatic gesture to assuage Beijing's feelings.
Both the US and South Korea claim the installation of the defense system is aimed at containing North Korea, not China. However, this is viewed as "words to beguile kids" by almost every Chinese military analyst. One thing is for certain - the Chinese public's accumulating good will toward Seoul would be severely battered if THAAD finally lands on South Korea, and the foundation of the bilateral ties would be shattered.
Carter's visit comes just as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and China's "One Belt, One Road" regional economic initiative have become the hottest discussions in Asia. Carter has chosen this moment to come and make a loud noise, showing the power of the US military alliance in the region. Amid his tour of Tokyo, Carter and Japanese officials reached a consensus to speed up the revision of the US-Japan Defense Guidelines, and to give Japanese Self-Defense Forces a more active role. Their conversation also covers the Diaoyu Islands and the South China Sea. Explicitly and implicitly, much of their talks are directed against China.
It is noticed that the US and Japan remain the only two major players in the Asia-Pacific region that have not joined the AIIB. Yet they have upgraded the deterrent force of their military alliance without a slightest hesitation. It can't help but make us think their moves are responses to the new era marked by the AIIB.
We are wondering, what initiatives has Japan raised to boost economic development regionally or globally, and what has Japan done for everyone else in recent years except for arguing to end the ban on exercising collective self-defense, strengthening the US-Japan Defense Guidelines and debating whether or not to visit the Yasukuni Shrine? Undoubtedly, Tokyo is getting into a dead end of geopolitics, and its neuroticism hit it off with Washington's anxiousness. But they are wrong. No one wants a fight in Asia, and neither do Japan and the US have the courage to resolve their issues with armed force.
Japan is now the closest ally of the US in the region. But what Japan gains from enhancing this alliance cannot make up for what it loses. There are even signs that Japan is becoming gradually isolated. How far Washington will lead Tokyo down on this solitary path with its pivot to Asia-Pacific remains to be seen.
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