The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    SHINee celebrates 15th anniversary of debut: 'It feels surreal'

  • 3

    ENHYPEN reaches new career high with latest album 'Dark Blood'

  • 5

    Memorial Day 2023

  • 7

    Korea eyes launch of 4th Nuri space rocket in 2025

  • 9

    Vietnam emerges as major market for Korean chipmakers

  • 11

    ANALYSISChina's ban on Micron tests Washington-Seoul alliance

  • 13

    Top 20% of income earners fuel increase in Q1 consumption as pandemic ends

  • 15

    Rapper Mino attends sister's wedding in U.S. amid military service

  • 17

    Police brace for massive union protest

  • 19

    Korea to ease immigration rules to attract more medical tourists

  • 2

    Seoul on alert over Pyongyang's imminent spy satellite launch

  • 4

    Hybe's new boy group Boynextdoor aims to be 'one and only' presence in K-pop

  • 6

    Korea's household debt-to-GDP ratio highest among 34 major economies

  • 8

    Brave Girls to restart activities under new name

  • 10

    Japanese destroyer flies controversial flag as it arrives in Korea for joint drill

  • 12

    Korea's diplomacy put to test amid signs of thaw in US-China relations

  • 14

    Local governments appeal to young generations through YouTube

  • 16

    'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' raises bar with epic battle scenes

  • 18

    Seoul city erroneously sends emergency alert after NK launch

  • 20

    POSCO International enters battery materials business

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Yun Byung-se
  • Kim Won-soo
  • Ahn Ho-young
  • Kim Sang-woo
  • Lee Kyung-hwa
  • Mitch Shin
  • Peter S. Kim
  • Daniel Shin
  • Jeon Su-mi
  • Jang Daul
  • Song Kyung-jin
  • Park Jung-won
  • Cho Hee-kyoung
  • Park Chong-hoon
  • Kim Sung-woo
  • Donald Kirk
  • John Burton
  • Robert D. Atkinson
  • Mark Peterson
  • Eugene Lee
  • Rushan Ziatdinov
  • Lee Jong-eun
  • Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho
  • Bernhard J. Seliger
  • Imran Khalid
  • Troy Stangarone
  • Jason Lim
  • Casey Lartigue, Jr.
  • Bernard Rowan
  • Steven L. Shields
  • Deauwand Myers
  • John J. Metzler
  • Andrew Hammond
  • Sandip Kumar Mishra
Wed, May 31, 2023 | 09:16
Andrew Hammond
Anti-China alliance deepens with new deal
Posted : 2022-01-17 16:50
Updated : 2022-01-17 16:50
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Andrew Hammond

On Jan. 6 Japan and Australia signed a new security defense deal highlighting how Tokyo is of growing strategic importance as a partner in the emerging anti-China alliance.

The Reciprocal Access Agreement, which eases restrictions on the movement of weapons and supplies for joint training and disaster relief operations, is only the latest security pact aimed at countering China's military adventurism. The agreement, signed by Prime Ministers Fumio Kishida and Scott Morrison, is "a landmark instrument which will elevate security cooperation between the nations to new heights," the new Japanese leader said.

The deal, coming after last year's 75th anniversary of Victory over Japan (VJ Day) that brought closure to World War II, underlines how Tokyo's importance in the alliance is of key importance again. Not only is Japan a longstanding member of Western-dominated clubs such as the G7, plus the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad). There is also growing policy speculation that it could be invited to join the so-called '5 Eyes' intelligence alliance.

A key part of the rationale for Japan's growing geopolitical importance is that, just like the start of the Cold War, it is perceived in the West as a key bulwark against the advance of China and potentially Russia into the Asia-Pacific region. Yet, while much emphasis is put on the security pillar of the Japanese-Western alliance, economics is important too.

Since the end of the World War II, the transformation of Japan's world role stemmed, in part, from its phenomenal post-war business success which led to growing calls for it to match its economic power with commitment to international political relations too. Today, it remains one of the world's largest three economies, and it will be critical to helping rejuvenate global growth after the shock of the coronavirus crisis.

Outside of the United States, many other Western countries, including in Europe, particularly welcome Japan's invigorated commitment to international trade. Not only did Tokyo sign last year a bilateral agreement with Washington, but it has committed recently too to an EU-Japan trade agreement covering around a third of global GDP and almost 650 million people.

Moreover, Tokyo was at the vanguard of the so-called Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which accounts for around 13 percent of global trade and a combined population of around 500 million.

Beyond these structural factors driving Japan's international policy, the previous Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ― the longest serving premier in the nation's history ― proved personally very adept at consolidating relationships with some Western leaders. Those included Donald Trump, who during the 2016 election campaign had been very critical of Tokyo.

Abe was one of the few foreign leaders, for instance, to secure a trade deal with Trump. This deal helped neutralize Trump's previous criticism of what he characterized as Japan's unfair trade practices involving car imports and exports; and his accusations that Tokyo was using monetary policy to devalue its currency to boost exports.

Moreover, Trump during his presidency repeatedly highlighted the strong U.S. commitment to the security of Japan and said that the relationship is the "cornerstone of peace" in Asia-Pacific. Trump made these comments despite his 2016 assertions that the bilateral relationship had become too one-sided, with Japan needing to undertake more financial burden-sharing in international security.

Undoubtedly, the major driver in the increasing closeness of U.S.-Japan ties is China. Here, Tokyo has been reassured by Washington following earlier worries after the U.S. withdrawal from the Comprehensive and Progressive TransPacific Partnership, which had been originally intended by the Obama administration to lock the United States into deeper strategic partnerships in the region.

In this fluid geopolitical landscape, Abe sought to increase Japan's defense spending significantly, and overturn some of the remaining legal and political underpinnings of the country's post-1945 pacifist identity so that it could become more externally engaged. One big, specific measure Abe pushed for was the abolition of Article Nine ― the clause in Japan's post-war constitution that constrains the country's military to a strictly defensive role rather than enabling a conventional army, and has meant that defense spending has remained below 1 percent of GDP for much of the period since 1945.

However, the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers of the Japanese legislature, and a simple majority in a national referendum, proved insuperable obstacles even for the long-standing prime minister. There remains a large body of Japanese public opinion which continues to value its post-war pacifism as the only country in the world to have ever been attacked with nuclear weapons, and this factor continues to be a check on Japan's foreign policy in the 2020s.


Andrew Hammond (andrewkorea@outlook.com) is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.


 
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1Korea to ease immigration rules to attract more medical tourists Korea to ease immigration rules to attract more medical tourists
2Big businesses face growing union pressure to extend retirement age Big businesses face growing union pressure to extend retirement age
3Running convenience stores becomes popular among people in 20s, 30s Running convenience stores becomes popular among people in 20s, 30s
4Anti-corruption watchdog set to investigate crypto assets of lawmakersAnti-corruption watchdog set to investigate crypto assets of lawmakers
5Naver suffers shrinking online search market share Naver suffers shrinking online search market share
6Sluggish exports behind weak Korean wonSluggish exports behind weak Korean won
7Pyongyang may have delayed spy satellite launch due to technical issues Pyongyang may have delayed spy satellite launch due to technical issues
8Seoul resident clashes with authorities for raising dogs to nab 'North Korean spies'Seoul resident clashes with authorities for raising dogs to nab 'North Korean spies'
9Doctors, pharmacists to receive 30% bonus for offering telemedicine service Doctors, pharmacists to receive 30% bonus for offering telemedicine service
10HanmiGlobal to monitor building of 80,000 houses for Neom construction workers HanmiGlobal to monitor building of 80,000 houses for Neom construction workers
Top 5 Entertainment News
1'Elemental' director on bringing his personal story of immigration to cinema 'Elemental' director on bringing his personal story of immigration to cinema
2SHINee celebrates 15th anniversary of debut: 'It feels surreal' SHINee celebrates 15th anniversary of debut: 'It feels surreal'
3ENHYPEN reaches new career high with latest album 'Dark Blood' ENHYPEN reaches new career high with latest album 'Dark Blood'
4'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' raises bar with epic battle scenes 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' raises bar with epic battle scenes
5[INTERVIEW] Long-awaited extension of Korean Pavilion at Venice Biennale to be pushed forward INTERVIEWLong-awaited extension of Korean Pavilion at Venice Biennale to be pushed forward
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group