[Dean's World] Dave Price: The Japan Card

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Dave Price:
The Japan Card
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1152541433.shtml


   AP reports the startling news that [1]Japan is considering pre-emptive
   strikes on North Korean missile sites. Implicit in this, of course, is
   the threat of a re-armed Japan -- something that still frightens China
   and even gives the old Russian bear pause. With the second-largest
   economy in the world, Japan can afford to be a military power on par
   with any nation on Earth other than our own, and is likely to have
   access to some of the best American military hardware.
   Though one suspects the current rhetoric is perhaps aimed mostly at
   pushing China to do something about its crazy neighbor, this appears
   to be where the future is heading: Japan as a regional counterweight
   to an increasingly powerful and assertive (though, paradoxically,
   increasingly free) Chinese behemoth. I would not be surprised to see a
   Pacific mutual defense treaty alliance evolve between democratic
   powers S Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, backed by the United States,
   perhaps to include India and Australia as well.

References

   1. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060710/D8IP4UC81.html