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Chinese See War With Japan as Inevitable


Valin

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chinese-see-war-with-japan-as-inevitableThe Feed:

September 12, 2014

 

More than half of Chinese respondents to a recent Genron/China Daily poll expect China and Japan to go to war. A smaller but not insignificant number (29 percent) of Japanese respondents said the same. The poll, which was conducted before a UN-backed move to nationalize more contested East China Sea Islands, asked many questions about Sino-Japanese relations, and found that relations between the two historical enemies are at a record low. The FT reports on the results:

 

(Snip)

 

It has become a standard refrain in the commentary on Japanese maritime territorial aggression that the island chains—the Senkakus, the Spratlys, the Paracels—are just some rocks, although perhaps rocks with oil and gas underneath them. China may want to follow through on its irredentist territorial claims for matters of national pride, or it might want to secure the resources in the East and South China Seas. But with regional opponents allying against Beijing’s provocations and America making at least a nominal “pivot to Asia”, hopefully the leadership’s cooler heads prevail, and China will prove its citizens wrong about an impending war. Emotions are high, but everybody would do well to remember that great power conflict in the Pacific would be a disaster for all.


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Events In East Asia That Will Not End Well

October 18, 2014:

 

Japan announced another increase in their defense budget, to $47.25 billion. This is a slight increase from what was proposed at the end of 2013. The reason for all this spending is concern over the growing Chinese aggression in the Western Pacific. In 2013 Japan raised defense spending 2.8 percent for 2014 (to $46.8 billion) and released a list of priorities for the new, improved and larger defense budget. The Chinese were not pleased with this list as it emphasized dealing with the Chinese threat and saying so publically is considered bad manners in China.

 

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This is all very upsetting for the Chinese who hate the Japanese mainly because of eighty years of humiliation inflicted on China until 1945. Before that China had considered Japan an occasional nuisance, a warlike people living on several large island off northeastern China who were best left alone. Most of the time the Japanese seemed content to fight each other rather than threaten the Chinese coast. But that all changed in the late 19th century when the Japanese decided to industrialize, arm themselves like Westerners and adopt a more aggressive attitude towards China. After all, that’s what the Westerners were doing. At the end of the 19th century the Japanese believed they were the best hope for making East Asia competitive with the West. The bad blood between Japan and China over this period in their history will poison relations between the two countries for many generations to come. China becomes angrier when threats directed at Japan are not received properly and the Japanese respond with more defense spending and plans to thwart Chinese aims. People in East Asia fear that all this will not end well.

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Japan Intercepted Record Number of Chinese and Russian Military Aircraft

Dave Majumdar

October 20, 2014

 

 

japanese_f-15_jet_east_china_sea_china_n

A Japanese F-15J allegedly buzzing a Chinese Tu-154 in June.

 

Japan intercepted a record number of Russian and Chinese aircraft close to its territorial waters over the past six months.

 

The countrys military flew 533 intercepts during the first half of fiscal year 2014, according to a Janes Defence Weekly report. Compared to that same period in 2013, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), as the Japanese air force is known, flew 308 sorties.

 

The increasing number of intercepts is part of a growing trend. The JASDF has flown an increasing number of air intercepts since 2011. In fiscal year 2011, there were 425 intercepts, 567 in 2012 and 810 in 2013. If the trend continues, the number of intercepts could rise to Cold War-era levels.

 

(Snip)

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