Obama Revives the Focus on Asia

U.S. President Obama’s tour of Asia at the end of April has become extremely beneficial to strengthening alliances in the Asia Pacific region and restraining China, which has adopted expansionist policies. The question for Japan in the days to come is how effectively it will support the Obama administration’s focus — “rebalance” — on Asia.

The Japan-U.S. Alliance’s Increased Deterrence of China

Although it is a matter of course, President Obama’s statement that the Senkaku Islands are under the administrative control of Japan and thus lie within the scope of Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty is an extremely important remark that will advantageously bolster Japan’s diplomacy toward China. The same remark has already been made by the U.S. secretary of state, secretary of defense and congressional leaders, but the words hold a different weight when they come from the president.

The United States confirmed its pledge of a strong alliance in a joint statement that will become a deterrent against China, stating “The United States has deployed its most advanced military assets to Japan and provides all necessary capabilities to meet its commitments under the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.” Both Japan and the United States’ criticism in an official statement of “Russia’s illegal attempt” to forcibly annex Crimea also serve as a restraint on China, which intends to make a similar attempt on the Senkaku Islands. It also holds great significance that the U.S. president’s personal jet ignored the air defense identification zone created unilaterally by China as it flew from South Korea to Malaysia.

That President Obama has visited Southeast Asia this time around holds significant meaning for furthering the rebalancing policy. Mr. Obama, as the first U.S. president to visit Malaysia in 48 years, also greatly improved bilateral relations with U.S. assistance in the late-March Malaysia Airlines missing persons case.

Because Malaysia was the first ASEAN country to normalize relations with China in 1974, it focused on its relationship with China while moving forward with military cooperation, with the United States behind the scenes. The visitation of U.S. ships to Malaysian ports, military education of Malaysian officers in the United States and Malaysia’s provision of a jungle combat training ground and so on, have come into operation.

The New Phase of U.S.-Malaysia and U.S.-Philippines Relations

With the recent Malaysia Airlines missing persons case, Malaysia and China worsened relations in one fell swoop when each country criticized the other’s clumsy information transmission. Under these circumstances, President Obama issued a joint statement pertaining to the two countries’ “comprehensive partnership” in defense of the Najib administration’s response measures. The United States and Malaysia have taken a critical stance toward China, setting forth the early provision of a code of conduct for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, as well as for avoiding threats to territorial resolution, coercion and use of military force.

Similarly, during his last stop in the Philippines, President Obama entered into the groundbreaking Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which clearly sets forth the periodic deployment of U.S. forces and the joint use of military installations. China’s expansion of power into the South China Sea is something that has come into view, but President Obama has stated that the U.S. will defend the Philippines in accordance with the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. In the days ahead, the U.S. will likely keep a watchful eye on China’s movements through the deployment of warships, fighter jets, drones and high-powered radar.

Since announcing his rebalancing policy in Australia in November 2011, President Obama has not taken any conspicuous measures other than deploying U.S. marines to Darwin and relocating a portion of the U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa to Guam. However, he finally began to enrich and add substance to the policy during this tour of Asia. There is particularly great significance in the Senkaku defense statement and the effective re-stationing of U.S. troops in the Philippines.

The Context of the Shift in the United States’ China Policy

These developments are evidence of the decision of the Obama administration’s diplomatic and defense teams to respond harshly to threats from China, following Vice President Biden’s discussion with Chinese officials about the air defense identification zone during his visit to China last November. This was also reflected in the harsh criticism of China issued by the National Security Council’s Senior Director for Asian Affairs, Evan Medeiros, during his congressional testimony in late January as well as that of Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, in early February.

On the other hand, there is reason to doubt whether the agreement indicated by President Obama to forcefully defend U.S. allies can be shielded from defense budget cuts down the road. Consequently, Japan should first contribute to the creation of a system for Japan-U.S.-South Korea cooperation, in a sense that complements the role of the United States. Even during President Obama’s recent visit to South Korea, it was not clear whether or not wartime control of South Korean defense would be transferred from the U.S. military to the South Korean military in 2015 as planned. The U.S.-South Korean alliance is not as firm as it appears in the public statements issued by the leaders of both countries.

Regarding the Senkaku Islands, even if Chinese soldiers came ashore disguised as fishermen, Japan cannot deploy its self-defense force in a gray zone situation without an armed attack. It is necessary to revise the current Self-Defense Forces Law or create a territory defense law as soon as possible. As far as Senkaku defense goes, there is a particular question over the right to exercise self-defense under the Japan-U.S. “joint defense” strategy indicated by Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. Shouldn’t the strategy prioritize the Senkaku Islands in the debate over the right to collective self-defense?

Japan has a policy of providing the Philippines with patrol boats, but Japan also needs to actively support the case filed by the Philippines to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea over territorial disputes with China. Japan should cooperate with Australia in support of the Philippines and contribute to the rebalancing policy.