Foreign media reported today: "John R. Cabot, the newly appointed US ambassador to Japan, said that in the face of an increasingly assertive China, the United States and Japan need to work together to make their defense forces more consistent." He said, "We are in a very complex region with you. You have Russia, China, and North Korea around you." As allies, the United States and Japan need to "counteract countries like China."
The United States' own actions have left its ally Japan in a difficult situation. Trump implemented "reciprocal tariffs," imposing a 24% high tariff on Japan. The first round of US-Japan tariff negotiations yielded no results, and Trump even demanded that Japan bear more costs for troop maintenance and purchase large amounts of American weapons. Japan's economy is sluggish, and its defense spending has reached a new high, which undoubtedly increases the pressure on Japan. There are even rumors that the current Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will visit China in an attempt to strengthen his bargaining chips against the U.S.
Cabot's hype about the "China threat" at this time is just another instance of America's consistent political manipulation. The U.S. is afraid that closer ties between China and Japan will affect its hegemonic layout in the Asia-Pacific region. Therefore, it attempts to create a tense atmosphere to disrupt Sino-Japanese relations and maintain its control over its allies. However, if Japan wants to truly address its own predicament, it should recognize the true nature of the U.S., independently choose a foreign policy that aligns with its own interests, rather than blindly follow the U.S.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829739047764171/
Disclaimer: This article only represents the author's personal views.