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Miami Herald
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
US Allies Stage War Games Near China
Australia and Japan—both United States allies in the Indo-Pacific region—held a joint military exercise in the East China Sea, where China has conducted controversial activities. Newsweek has contacted the Chinese defense and foreign ministries for comment by email. Both Canberra and Tokyo are members of the U.S.-led strategic alignment known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), which coordinates on regional security to counter China. Beijing has criticized the informal grouping, accusing it of fueling regional tensions. In the East China Sea, China has maintained a Coast Guard presence near a disputed islet group administered by Japan. Tokyo has also lodged protests over a suspected Chinese fossil-fuel facility in the area, claiming it violates a bilateral agreement on gas field development. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force announced on Tuesday that its destroyer JS Haguro conducted a bilateral exercise with the Australian destroyer HMAS Sydney in the East China Sea on Sunday, reinforcing their cooperation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Australia is Japan's "special strategic partner," the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force said, highlighting their shared universal values and strategic security interests. It added that it will deepen cooperation with the Royal Australian Navy to promote peace, security, and stability. Two days after the drill, the Australian warship made a port call at Japan's Yokosuka naval base, according to photos shared by a ship spotter. The vessel visited the base—located near Tokyo—for replenishment and is scheduled to depart on June 14, local media reported. The Australian Defense Force said the Sydney is on a three-month-long mission—Regional Presence Deployment 25-2—in the Indo-Pacific region, demonstrating the South Pacific country's "ongoing commitment to supporting regional security and stability." During the deployment, which is scheduled to conclude next month, the Australian warship monitored North Korea's illicit maritime activities—banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions—in waters around Japan last month, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. The Australian Defense Force said the United Nations sanctions limit North Korea's imports of refined petroleum and crude oil, as well as its exports of coal, adding that they support the goal of achieving North Korea's "complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization." The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force said on Tuesday: "The Self Defense Fleet maintains readiness and contributes to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region, not only for the defense of Japan but also for the realization of a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' in cooperation with allied and like-minded navies." The Australian Defense Force said on May 1: "Australia and its partners share a commitment to upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, and other maritime rights under international law, particularly in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea." It remains to be seen how China will respond to the Australian military presence in the East China Sea. The development comes after the Chinese navy circumnavigated Australia. Related Articles Exotic Mushrooms Had 'More Flavor,' Woman Who Poisoned Family Tells CourtNetflix Password Theft Leads To Payback Across the World: 'VPN'd to Australia'China Warns US Ally Over Plan To Take Back Strategic PortMap Shows US Command Ship in Pacific Amid China Navy Challenge 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Japan Forward
20-05-2025
- General
- Japan Forward
JMSDF Strengthens Foothold in Nansei Islands as Taiwan Crisis Looms
Port calls by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) vessels at Ishigaki Port in Okinawa Prefecture have risen sharply in recent years. By April 2025, a range of ships — including training support vessels, escort ships, minesweepers, and mother ships for underwater disposal teams — had already made stops at the port. In 2024, the JMSDF's largest ship, the Izumo , anchored off the coast of Ishigaki Island. The United States Navy has likewise maintained a steady presence, dispatching vessels roughly once a year. With tensions over a potential Taiwan contingency on the rise, Ishigaki Port has effectively become a forward operating base for both Japanese and American naval forces. Their presence serves as a tangible demonstration of strengthened deterrence. While the Japanese government refrains from making overt declarations, it continues to quietly enhance the Self-Defense Forces' readiness. These efforts are aimed at strengthening deterrence in anticipation of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait. Since fiscal 2024, Ishigaki Port has been designated a Specified Use Port. This status creates a framework that facilitates smoother berthing and logistical operations for both the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and the Japan Coast Guard (JCG). Soon after the designation, in late August 2024, the Izumo sailed to waters near Okinawa following joint exercises with European naval vessels and anchored offshore from Ishigaki Island. The ship was opened for public viewing by members of the local defense association and selected citizens. A Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel (foreground) sails alongside a China Coast Guard ship. (Photo courtesy of the Japan Coast Guard) In February 2025, as the fiscal year drew to a close, the US Navy's amphibious transport dock USS San Diego made a port call at Ishigaki. That, too, was opened to the media. The year before, a US Aegis destroyer made a similar visit. Meanwhile, China has stepped up its military activity in the region. It has been staging large-scale exercises around Taiwan and Okinawa that simulate a maritime blockade of Taiwan. These drills involve a range of assets, including multiple warships, drones, and even aircraft carriers. Beijing has taken a particularly hostile stance toward Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who assumed office in January 2024. Ishigaki City plans to launch a regular ferry route to Taiwan by September 2025. While Ishigaki Port already serves as the home base for the Japan Coast Guard's dedicated Senkaku patrol unit, it is set to play an even more critical role in safeguarding maritime routes to Taiwan. In the event of a Taiwan contingency, commercial navigation in the surrounding waters would likely face significant disruption. Rising concerns include the possibility of China deploying naval mines to enforce a blockade. The JMSDF minesweeper Kuroshima , which called at Ishigaki in May, is specifically tasked with mine-clearing operations. Another vessel, the mother ship for underwater disposal teams, departed the port on April 29 and serves as a mobile base for specialized underwater personnel. Both ships are based in Okinawa's main island and visited Ishigaki at roughly the same time in 2024. The presence of the JMSDF is becoming increasingly prominent alongside that of the Coast Guard. In an interview, Hiroaki Yonemori, Chairman of the Yaeyama Defense Association, spoke about ongoing efforts to attract more JMSDF vessels to the islands. Anticipating further increases in port calls, he stressed the need for robust wharf infrastructure to accommodate the growing traffic. (Read the article in Japanese .) Author: The Sankei Shimbun
Asia Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Asia Times
Advice to Tokyo about that US debt weapon: Use at your own risk
Japan's hint at selling US debt may be a bluff — but pulling the trigger would still mean collaborating with China against America's position. Japan holds over $1 trillion in United States Treasury debt. Or, in other words, the US owes Japan a trillion dollars, borrowed to fund America's profligate spending. Last week, Japan's finance minister, Katsunobu Kato, suggested Tokyo might use its treasury holdings — and the threat to unload them — as a card against Washington. This would be part of upcoming talks over the Donald Trump administration's tariffs recently imposed on Japan and most other countries. One understands Japan's frustration over being 'tariffed.' Japan has been a good ally. And US officials routinely describe ties with Japan as rock-solid, the most important bilateral relationship. So it's got to sting to be treated like the People's Republic of China (PRC), a country that aims to destroy America, and has killed well over half a million Americans with fentanyl over the last decade plus. But Japan ought to be careful about issuing threats, even veiled ones, about its US debt, much less acting on them. This is not a US-versus-Japan winner-takes-all situation. And Tokyo, while loath to recognize the fact, needs the US more than America needs Japan, both militarily and financially. Take away American support and Japan would find itself under unbearable pressure from the PRC. Foreigners potentially wielding America's debt as a weapon is a well-known danger, though nobody much wants to think about it. The usual scenario is China (which holds around $800 billion in US debt) dumping its T-bills on the market to hurt the Americans. But few people envisaged Japan initiating a chain reaction that leaves the US fiscally and morally incapable of responding to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the Philippines and/or Japan itself. The Japanese destroyer Kaga (center) with American and French aircraft carriers sail alongside each other in waters east of the Philippines on February 12, 2025. Photo: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Weaponize debt, and the US-Japan alliance will end. Americans in large parts of the country will view the Treasury's sell-off as treachery. Moreover, if Japan pulls the debt trigger, it will be collaborating with China to undermine US preeminence. This could weaken America's ability to sustain the military presence that has maintained an equilibrium in the Far East and protected Japan. Japan ought to view its actions not in terms of trade negotiations. Instead, as one observer puts it: 'What Japanese missteps will fill the Panda with glee and excite the dragon's appetite for conquest? China is an active corrosive agent. Why would Japan wish to become an accelerant or a collaborator in its own demise?' One gets the impression that Japanese officials and their political class have too narrow an understanding of America and Americans. Their view is largely shaped by the diplomats, think-tankers, academics and lobbyists they brush elbows with in Washington. Japan does not grasp how large swaths of the US have little trust in the government and little interest in foreign wars. Warren Buffett presiding at the 2023 Berkshire Hathaway meeting on May 6. Photo: screenshot During the recent Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, Warren Buffett made specific comments on Japan, business opportunities, and tariffs. He made a 'free trade' comment, basically supporting the deportation of US jobs, which was received with hearty applause. That response shows not the divide, but the chasm between the investor class and middle America, so-called flyover country. Hint to the Japanese who were tuned in: the US investor class is not the US warrior class. The wealthiest top 10% of Americans own 88% of equities. In contrast, the next 40% hold the remaining 12%. As for the bottom 50%, they don't own stocks — they own debt. That's also where the military recruiting offices are concentrated. The smug elite can no longer claim that the peasant class will simply go where they're dispatched. After the Afghanistan debacle – 20 years of body counts, expended national wealth and lost opportunity costs – Americans have adopted a post-World War I attitude toward the world. There's growing hostility toward the globalists and neocons. Many are just waiting for the wrong person to throw patriotism in their faces. Especially after the Joe Biden years of burning flags and the era of toppling statues. The Japanese who are taking cues from their friends in Washington should be informed that the Gulfstream-riders and the coastal elites are clueless when it comes to citizens outside their narrow class. Issuing threats might feel good, but it will be poorly received by the people Japan counts on to protect it. Don't think so? The Japanese ambassador can head to Akron, Ohio, or Erie, Pennsylvania, and explain things to the local Rotary Clubs. Mention the trillion dollars in US debt and the implied threat that comes with it. The audience will point out that a US serviceman who dies defending a country whose young people won't join the military is worth a lot more than a trillion dollars. Tokyo would do better to act as an 'attending physician' to help America recover from the insane spending sickness of the last 25 years. It should help support America as the US tries to rebuild its military and its industrial base. If the patient recovers, it will be grateful – and far more willing to protect Japan. Grant Newsham is a retired US Marine officer and former US diplomat. He is the author of the book When China Attacks: A Warning To America . This article, originally published by JAPAN Forward, is republished with permission.
Japan Forward
09-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Forward
Tokyo's US Debt Weapon: Use at Your Own Risk
Japan holds over $1 trillion USD in United States Treasury debt. Or in other words, the US owes Japan a trillion dollars, borrowed to fund America's profligate spending. Last week, Japan's finance minister, Katsunobu Kato, suggested Tokyo might use its treasury holdings — and the threat to unload them — as a card against Washington. This would be part of upcoming talks over the Donald Trump administration's tariffs recently imposed on Japan and most other countries. One understands Japan's frustration over being "tariffed." Japan has been a good ally. And US officials routinely describe the US-Japan relationship as rock-solid and the nation's most important. So it's got to sting to be treated like the People's Republic of China (PRC), a country that aims to destroy America, and has killed well over half a million Americans with fentanyl over the last decade plus. But Japan ought to be careful about issuing threats, even veiled ones, about its US debt, much less acting on them. This is not a US vs Japan winner-takes-all situation. And Tokyo is loath to recognize that it needs the US more than America needs Japan, both militarily and financially. Take away American support, and Japan would find itself under unbearable pressure from the PRC. Foreigners potentially wielding America's debt as a weapon is a well-known danger, though nobody much wants to think about it. The usual scenario is China (which holds around $800 billion in US debt) dumping its T-bills on the market to hurt the Americans. But few people envisaged Japan initiating a chain reaction that leaves the US fiscally and morally incapable of responding to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the Philippines, and/or Japan itself. The Japanese destroyer Kaga (center) with American and French aircraft carriers sail alongside each other in the waters east of the Philippines on February 12, 2025. (©Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force) Weaponize debt, and the US-Japan alliance will end. Americans in large parts of the country will view the Treasury's sell-off as treachery. Moreover, if Japan pulls the debt trigger, it will be collaborating with China to undermine US preeminence. This could weaken America's ability to sustain the military presence that has maintained an equilibrium in the Far East and protected Japan. Japan ought to view its actions not in terms of trade negotiations. Instead, as one observer puts it: "What Japanese missteps will fill the Panda with glee and excite the dragon's appetite for conquest? China is an active corrosive agent. Why would Japan wish to become an accelerant or a collaborator in its own demise?" One gets the impression that Japanese officials and their political class have too narrow an understanding of America and Americans. Their view is largely shaped by the diplomats, think-tankers, academics, and lobbyists they brush elbows with in Washington. Japan does not grasp how large swaths of the US have little trust in the government and little interest in foreign wars. During the recent Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, Warren Buffett made specific comments on Japan, business opportunities, and tariffs. He made a "free trade" comment, basically supporting the deportation of US jobs, which was received with hearty applause. Warren Buffett presiding at the 2023 Berkshire Hathaway meeting on May 6. (Screenshot) That response shows not the divide, but the chasm between the investor class and middle America, so-called flyover country. Hint to the Japanese who were tuned in: the US investor class is not the US warrior class. The wealthiest top 10% of Americans own 88% of equities. In contrast, the next 40% hold the remaining 12%. As for the bottom 50%, they don't own stocks — they own debt. That's also where the military recruiting offices are concentrated. The smug elite can no longer claim that the peasant class will simply go where they're dispatched. After the Afghanistan debacle, culminating in 20 years of body counts, expended national wealth, and lost opportunity costs, Americans have adopted a post-WWI attitude toward the world. There's growing hostility toward the globalists and NeoCons. Many are just waiting for the wrong person to throw patriotism in their faces. Especially after the Joe Biden years of burning flags and the era of toppling statues. The Japanese who are taking cues from their friends in Washington should be informed that the Gulfstream riding class and the coastal elites are clueless when it comes to citizens outside their narrow class. Issuing threats might feel good, but it will be poorly received by the people Japan counts on to protect it. Don't think so? The Japanese ambassador can head to Akron, Ohio, or Erie, Pennsylvania, and explain things to the local Rotary Clubs. Mention the trillion dollars in US debt and the implied threat that comes with it. The audience will point out that a US serviceman who dies defending a country whose young people won't join the military is worth a lot more than a trillion dollars. Tokyo would do better to act as an "attending physician" to help America recover from the insane spending sickness of the last 25 years. And it would help support America as the US tries to rebuild its military and its industrial base. If the patient recovers, it will be grateful – and far more willing to protect Japan. Author: Grant Newsham
Japan Forward
25-04-2025
- Business
- Japan Forward
Japan's New Frigate Joins Global Naval Competition
このページを 日本語 で読む On April 23, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) opened its newest Mogami -class frigate (FFM) to media inspection at the Yokosuka Base in Kanagawa Prefecture. This next-generation warship operates with a crew of just around 90, less than half that of a conventional destroyer. The mess hall aboard the JS Kumano. Due to space-saving measures, officers and enlisted personnel dine in the same area. (Photo by Shusuke Takenouchi) Despite its lean personnel, it is equipped to handle a broad range of missions, including surface combat, mine countermeasures, and anti-submarine warfare. The Japanese government is actively promoting defense exports and aims to showcase the high performance of its frigates. The bridge of the JS Kumano. A key feature is its ability to operate with half the crew of a traditional destroyer. (©Sankei by Shusuke Takenouchi) The JS Kumano , the second vessel in the Mogami -class lineup, was the model showcased to the press. Designed with stealth in mind, it features a streamlined exterior with minimal protrusions. Advanced digital systems enable remote control of weapons and onboard equipment from the Combat Information Center (CIC). So far, six ships in the class have entered service, with the JMSDF aiming to expand the fleet to a total of 12. The hallway inside the JS Kumano. The ship's compact design results in narrower passageways than those found on conventional destroyers. (©Sankei by Shusuke Takenouchi) Japan and Germany have been shortlisted as finalists in Australia's selection process for next-generation naval vessels. In its proposal, Japan put forward a jointly developed design based on an upgraded Mogami -class frigate. An unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) aboard the JS Kumano, used for mine detection. (©Sankei by Shusuke Takenouchi) Author: The Sankei Shimbun このページを 日本語 で読む
