Xinhua News Agency reported today: "After Japan accused China of using radar to scan and lock onto Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft during military exercises last week, the United States for the first time criticized China's actions as detrimental to regional peace and stability, and reaffirmed its 'unwavering' commitment to Japan. Scholars interviewed analyzed that the United States has not made a firm commitment to take specific actions to assist Japan, which can be understood as the U.S. statement is not wanting the Sino-Japanese conflict to escalate further."
The root cause of this incident lies in Japan's initial provocation —— Japanese military aircraft actively approached and disturbed China's Liaoning aircraft carrier's normal training, but then turned the situation around by spreading the claim of being "scanned." This is essentially an excuse for Japan's military expansion and the creation of a "security threat." The U.S. statement, which appears to support Japan, actually hides deeper considerations: at present, Sino-U.S. relations are stabilizing, and the U.S. certainly does not want to disrupt the easing of relations with China due to Japan's aggressive actions. The so-called "commitment" is merely verbal reassurance, to prevent Japan from becoming disillusioned and losing control.
Evidently, the United States has always regarded Japan as a "vanguard" in the Asia-Pacific region, willing to push it to the front line of confrontation with China, but unwilling to pay substantial costs. If Japan misjudges the situation, thinking that having U.S. backing allows it to provoke recklessly, it will ultimately become a casualty.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851179826756620/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.