The Strategic Significance of the Taiwan-Japan Maritime Affairs Dialogue
Taiwan and Japan's shared problems and interests as fellow maritime countries could help the two sides to deepen their “quasi maritime alliance partnership.”
Category: Japan
Japan: India’s Unique Maritime Partner
The annual summit between Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, held on November 11 in Tokyo, once again underscored the importance of maritime security in the bilateral relationship. Describing the relationship as “unique” and “special,” the two leaders talked of a greater convergence in their visions for Asia. While there have been developments in almost all areas of the relationship, maritime security under Modi and Abe has become one of the most visible areas of cooperation in the strategic partnership. By addressing strategic concerns beyond the realm of security cooperation, the leaders have found a unique and constructive way to collaborate in the Indian Ocean and beyond.
President Duterte Maintains Philippine-Japanese Partnership as He “Pivots” to China
Amid signs of Duterte rejecting the United States and pivoting fully toward China, the ongoing warmth of the Philippines' security relationship with Japan—China’s greatest rival in East Asia—hints at a greater balancing act within Duterte’s foreign policy vision.
Okinotori: A New Beginning for Taiwan-Japan Maritime Dialogue
Fishing disputes between Taiwan and Japan facilitate preventative diplomacy
Taipei’s Risky Agreement with Beijing on Okinotorishima
Taiwan challenges Japan’s claim to an exclusive economic zone in order to protect security and fishing interests
Balikatan Exercise Highlights Territorial Defense and Multilateral Approach
This year’s military exercise reflects the changing nature of the U.S.-Philippines alliance in light of heightened tensions generated by China’s expansion in the South China Sea.
Creating Seamless Maritime Security Coalitions in the Indo-Pacific
With rapid expansion of China’s power, the region needs to establish flexible mechanisms for collective maritime security cooperation.
The Philippines and Japan Sign New Defense Agreement
Philippine defense secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Japanese ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhide Ishikawa on February 29 signed a new defense agreement to allow the transfer of defense equipment and technology from Japan to the Philippines. It also provides for the Philippines and Japan to conduct joint research and development, and even joint production, of defense […]
China Creates a Second Chance for the ‘Quad’
Will Australia, India, Japan and the United States move from exercising together to operating together? In the end, it will probably be China’s actions that determine where the Quad will go next.
“Self-Restraint” with Japanese Characteristics
Japan’s model of self-restraint in the Senkaku Islands is a model of regional stability for China in the South China Sea
Philippines and Japan Strengthen a Twenty-First Century Security Partnership
During a bilateral meeting at the November 18-19 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in Manila, Philippine president Benigno Aquino and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe agreed in principle to negotiate the transfer of defense equipment and technology from the Japan Self-Defense Forces to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). If completed, this accord would […]
Can Japan Join U.S. Freedom of Navigation Operations in the South China Sea?
The United States has started long overdue freedom of navigation (FON) operations in the South China Sea. Washington launched the FON program in 1979 to challenge coastal states’ excessive maritime claims through diplomatic engagement and operational assertion. During the Cold War the United States conducted FON operations in Soviet territorial seas, where Moscow did not […]
The Japan-Taiwan Fishery Agreement: Strategic Success, Tactical Failure?
Japan and Taiwan concluded a civil fishery agreement in April 2013. It took 17 years to conclude the agreement with occasional interruption of the negotiations. The agreement covers the waters south of 27 degrees north latitude and north of the Yaeyama Islands, excluding the territorial seas around the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyutai) Islands, over which both […]
The Legacy of the Soviet Offensives of August 1945
The Second World War was an unparalleled calamity for the Soviet Union. As many as 27 million Soviet soldiers and civilians died as a result of the conflict that started with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and ended with the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Consumed by this existential struggle along its […]
August 1945: A Snapshot of American Maritime Strategy in the Pacific
When Japan surrendered 70 years ago this month, the United States stood supreme in the Pacific. Only the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy had surface combatants that could roam freely from the Indian Ocean to the East China Sea and these remained a fraction of the massive “Big Blue Fleet” the U.S. Navy had […]
Platforms of Mistrust: Natural Resource Development in the East China Sea
On July 22, 2015, the Government of Japan (GOJ) released photographs[1] and a map[2] of offshore drilling platforms constructed by China in the East China Sea and issued a statement[3] calling on China to cease what Japan considers unilateral resource development in violation of a bilateral agreement concerning the joint exploration of natural resources. The […]
The Case for Japan’s Patrol in the South China Sea
Over the past few months, speculation about possible Japanese patrols in the South China Sea has attracted media attention. The United States’ 7th Fleet Commander welcomed such patrol by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), while Japan’s defense minister and top uniform officer responded cautiously but positively. Japan renounced all of its claims in the […]
Patrolling International Skies: Understanding Joint Air Patrols
In examining recent suggestions for joint patrolling of the South China Sea, analysts have tended to focus on the surface vessels of various nations’ coast guards and navies. Yet the flight of a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon hosting a CNN film crew over disputed waters in the South China Sea in May highlighted the potential […]
South China Sea Civilian Air Patrol Capability and the U.S.-Japan Alliance
Increased tensions over China’s maritime sovereignty claims in the Western Pacific pose a challenge for the international system. A confrontation between China and Japan in the East China Sea continues mainly between Japan’s national coast guard ships and China’s government and civilian fishery vessels, but it seems to have reached a kind of moderate stalemate […]
Philippine Navy and Japan’s Maritime Self Defense Forces in the South China Sea
For the first time since the Second World War, a Japanese naval reconnaissance plane landed on the western most Philippine island of Palawan to take part in a training exercise with the Philippine Navy (PN) from June 22 to June 26. On June 21, a Maritime Self-Defense Force (MDSF) P3-C Orion with 20 crew members […]
President Aquino’s Visit to Tokyo Boosts Philippine-Japan Partnership in Maritime Security
President Benigo Aquino III’s first state visit to Japan reflected the increasing tempo of security cooperation between these two U.S. allies that are facing a common security challenge in their maritime domains—China’s maritime expansion. President Aquino met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss how they can strengthen their countries’ strategic partnership in the face of […]
What is Japan’s Shangri-La Dialogue Initiative?
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani proposed a “Shangri-La Dialogue Initiative” (SDI) at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. To build foundation for deeper security collaboration with regional partners, Nakatani proposed crisis management though the promotion of common rules and law in the maritime and air domains, maritime and air security through the enhancement of regional […]
The South China Sea at Shangri-La 2015: A Primer
As delegates assemble for the 14th annual Asia Security Summit, better known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, regional tensions are running high over China’s island building in the South China Sea. As the weekend summit gets under way, here are the issues to watch. Stormy Seas and Skies: In the last several months, the region and […]
Highlights from Shangri-La Dialogue 2014
Highlights from Shangri-la Dialogue 2014. Video credit: IISS. The 2015 Shangri-La Dialogue kicks off on Friday, May 29, in Singapore and runs through the weekend. The defense summit will feature a keynote speech by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong and plenary remarks by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, Japanese Minister of Defense Gen […]
CSIS Transcript: Conference Call on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Visit to Washington
Center for Strategic and International Studies Conference Call on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Visit to Washington Participants: Michael J. Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, CSIS Matthew P. Goodman, William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy and Senior Adviser for Asian Economics, CSIS Nicholas Szechenyi, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Japan […]
The 2015 U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines: End of a New Beginning
It has been nearly 15 years since the alliance last revised the Guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation. Both governments revised these Guidelines as a part of the security relationship’s transition to the post-Cold War environment, while abiding by the constraints of Japan defense policies at that time. Speaking of the 1997 Defense Guidelines, Japan’s Ambassador […]
The Maritime Security Implications of the New U.S.-Japan Guidelines
The new U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines will upgrade bilateral operational cooperation and enhance the alliance structure. The new Guidelines enable Japanese and U.S. forces to conduct effective combined operations defending each other’s units and assets in the high seas—even beyond Japanese territorial waters. The new Alliance Coordination Mechanism will endorse this upgraded operational cooperation. Under this […]
The U.S.-Japan Alliance Upgrades and Maritime Contention in Asia
On Monday, the U.S. and Japanese government announced the conclusion of their upgrade of their alliance.[1] The U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation Guidelines have been revised for the second time since they were drafted in 1978, first in 1997 to respond to the early disruptions after the end of the Cold War, and today to cope with […]
Critical Questions: Abe’s Speech to Congress
By Michael J. Green, Nicholas Szechenyi APR 29, 2015 Today Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan became the first Japanese leader ever to address a joint session of Congress. Abe summarized key themes for U.S.-Japan relations including history, as August marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Q1: What were the […]
Critical Questions: The Abe-Obama Summit
By Michael J. Green, Matthew P. Goodman, Nicholas Szechenyi APR 28, 2015 President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan held a summit meeting at the White House today in conjunction with Abe’s official visit to the United States, the first by a Japanese prime minister in nine years. The visit demonstrates the […]