Latest news with #RyoHinataYamaguchi
South China Morning Post
18 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Is Japan facing higher risk of drone warfare over Diaoyu Islands?
Advertisement In response to a written query from a lawmaker, the Japanese government affirmed at a cabinet meeting on June 27 that the Self-Defence Forces could take such an action even if foreign drones were not an immediate threat to the country's security. Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, an associate professor at Tokyo International University's Institute for International Strategy, said the clarification was less about a policy change and more about codifying what had already been tacitly understood. 'The decision in itself is not particularly significant as this is dealing with uncrewed aircraft, which is very different to the far more stringent rules attached to dealing with manned aircraft,' he said. Still, Hinata-Yamaguchi warned that the explicit rules might invite Beijing to test Tokyo's stance. Advertisement 'Beijing may well decide to try to call Japan's bluff on this by sending a drone into Japanese airspace and seeing how Japan responds,' he told This Week in Asia. 'If I were the Chinese, that is what I would do.'
South China Morning Post
27-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Blow for Japan's Indo-Pacific hopes as Nato shelves Tokyo office plan
Nato has shelved plans to open a liaison office in Tokyo, dealing a symbolic blow to Japan 's hopes of cementing the alliance's presence in the Indo-Pacific and exposing divisions among member states over how directly they should confront China's rising power. The proposal had been strongly backed by former prime minister Fumio Kishida 's government, which viewed the planned office as a step towards closer coordination with Nato and its partners in the region, including Australia, South Korea and New Zealand. But officials confirmed on the sidelines of the alliance's ongoing summit in The Hague that the plan had been dropped – at least for now. Analysts say the decision is unlikely to derail growing military cooperation between Japan and key Nato members, but note that it will be perceived in Tokyo as a missed opportunity to formalise Japan's role as a trusted partner in global security. 'Yes, there will be disappointment in Japan as they were very much in favour of this, but Tokyo knows there are many ways to enhance the relationship with Nato rather than through the opening of an office,' said Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, associate professor at Tokyo International University's Institute for International Strategy. 'It is not clear exactly why this decision was reached and there will be questions over whether Nato did not want an office in the Asia-Pacific region or Japan specifically,' he said. 'But things can change in the future and it would be fairly easy to resurrect the plan again.'
