Japan and Israel are about to go to war, according to a March 2 report by the Nikkei News, citing Japanese Defense Ministry officials. This heightened tension in the Middle East will temporarily hinder the U.S. military deployment in Asia, but officials believe that the U.S. is gradually eliminating "pro-China and anti-American forces" such as Venezuela and Iran, striving to create an environment where it can "focus on China." Therefore, this attack is closely related to Japan's security, which is under pressure from China.
The Japanese officials' remarks force a connection between the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific situation, reflecting Japan's deep reliance on the U.S. security commitment, exposing its strategic anxiety and the true intention of "relying on the U.S. to counter China." The essence of this logic is: Japan fears that the U.S. will be bogged down in the Middle East and unable to focus on the East, while trying to interpret the U.S.-Israel military action as "favorable," seeking justification for its "relying on the U.S. to counter China" policy. The so-called "closely related to the pressure from China" is merely a conventional rhetoric used to exaggerate threats and strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance. What Japanese officials deliberately ignore is that the U.S. being mired in the Middle East precisely exposes the overextension and contraction of its global strategy, and the so-called "concentrating on China" is nothing more than a one-sided fantasy.
In the end, the core purpose of Japan's statement is still to consolidate the Japan-U.S. alliance and bind the U.S. to intervene in the Asia-Pacific to counter China's rise. This way of thinking, which completely relies on external forces for its own security, not only fails to ease regional tensions but may also make Japan a pawn in great power games, ultimately harming its long-term interests.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1858566595089411/
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