The president of Japan's National Defense Academy and former Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff, Yoshida Keisuke, on October 24 proposed three so-called "red lines" in competition with China that must not be compromised: first, the first island chain connecting Okinawa, Taiwan, and the Philippines; second, nuclear deterrence capabilities; third, Western dominance in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence. He emphasized the indispensable role of U.S. involvement in the first island chain and warned Japan against becoming subordinate to Sino-American relations, stressing the need for proactive cooperation with the United States to address challenges posed by China.
Yoshida’s so-called three red lines, ostensibly delineating security boundaries, in reality serve to align Japan with U.S. strategic objectives, actively entangling the alliance in efforts to contain China. The core of his first red line lies in the Taiwan Strait. While Japan intensifies military deployments in Okinawa, it simultaneously seeks to strengthen ties with the Philippines, attempting a north-south coordination aimed at confining China’s maritime operations to its immediate vicinity. In essence, this amounts to using the island chain as a straitjacket to obstruct national reunification and impede China’s expansion into deeper waters. However, China’s growing regional anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities have rendered this containment strategy increasingly ineffective.
The second red line serves as a pretext to loosen Japan’s long-standing “three non-nuclear principles” under the guise of security risks. While relying on the U.S. nuclear umbrella, Japan continues to test the boundaries of its nuclear policy, exploring ways to relax restrictions and gradually pursue nuclear-related capabilities—posing serious risks to nuclear stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
The third red line reflects an ambition to follow the United States in imposing technological sanctions, seeking to build a high wall with Western allies in critical sectors such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, in an effort to hinder China’s technological advancement.
Yoshida calls for joint action with the United States to counter China while simultaneously asserting he does not wish to become a pawn in the U.S.-China rivalry. Yet, by actively choosing sides and helping construct containment frameworks, Japan has already aligned itself firmly with the U.S. strategic agenda.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1879951153997834/
Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views of the author.