The Time is Now to Rope in America

U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent speech on foreign policy at the U.S. Military Academy was hardly surprising. The president stated that “the United States will use military force, unilaterally if necessary, when our core interests demand it: when our people are threatened; when our livelihoods are at stake; when the security of our allies is in danger”—a clear declaration that America intends to protect its allies.

On the other hand, he also pointed out his concern that “regional aggression that goes unchecked, whether in southern Ukraine or the South China Sea or anywhere else in the world, will ultimately impact our allies, and could draw in our military.” In the New York Times International Edition, one commenter said that “President Obama is emphasizing his belief that the U.S. must avoid becoming embroiled in a quagmire of international crises.”*

After coming through two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a sense of combat fatigue is palpable all over American society. But even during this period of inward focus, the U.S. is concerned over whether the Senkaku Islands issue will boil over into a crisis. At a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in April, President Obama, in reference to the Senkaku Islands, became the first president to apply Article 5 of the Peace Treaty of San Francisco to a specific issue. However, at that same press conference, the president was directly questioned on the Senkaku issue by an American journalist:

“Are you saying that the U.S. would consider using military force, were China to have some sort of military incursion in those islands, to protect those islands?” The president chose not to answer directly, saying only that “it would be a profound mistake to continue to see escalation around this issue, rather than dialogue and confidence-building measures between Japan and China.”

In Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba’s recent publication, “An Introduction to ‘The Right to Collective Defense’ for Japanese People,” he states, “In the case of an emergency, it will be necessary for Japan to pursue a policy which seeks to actively ‘rope in’ America.” Particularly with respect to the Senkaku Islands, it seems we’re in an age where America gets roped in, and Japan does the roping.

If the hypothetical posed in the reporter’s question becomes a reality, even on a small scale, regardless of whether the U.S. military openly supports Japan’s Self-Defense Force, roping in America would be absolutely vital to defusing the situation. Even so, it’s irritating that we’ve spent the last 60 years living under the San Francisco Peace Treaty and still people question whether we should involve America. We’re a half century behind the times, and it’s flabbergasting.

*Editor’s note: This quotation could not be verified.