Japan will be dragged into the US-China war Japanese newspaper

Tokyo: A leading Japanese newspaper has claimed that the United States has jeopardised the Japanese security by withdrawing from the historic Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia. The United States can, in the next few months, increase the deployment of missiles in the Pacific Ocean. The newspaper claimed that in such a scenario, the military tension between the United States and China would cross the limit and Japan will become the front for war between the United States and China.

Last week, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo formally announced United States’ withdrawal from the INF treaty. Pompeo announced that the process of withdrawal from the treaty would be completed in the next 180 days. Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, reacted very sharply to this announcement made by the US Secretary of State. The article in the newspaper says that after this period of six months, the United States can deploy medium-range missiles on the Guam islands in the Pacific Ocean and at its military bases in Philippines and Japan.

The United States can justify the deployment with the argument that Russia violated the INF treaty. But as per the newspaper, this deployment in the Pacific Ocean will add to the Chinese restlessness. Already, there is severe tension between the United States and China over various issues. China has even threatened to attack US warships. If the United States increased its missile deployment in this region, it would lead to a war between the United States and China and Japan will become the front for the conflictbetween the two countries.

Japan is one of the countries under threat from aggressive Chinese activities in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan has carefully developed cooperation with the United States, Australia and India to face the challenges posed by China. At the same time, Japan is assisting the smaller member countries of the ASEAN, against China. The Japanese dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands is at its worst stage. Therefore, it is evident that Japan will have to face Chinese aggression at some point in time.

In the current scenario, the US bases on the Japanese islands and marine region are ensuring safety for Japan. The concerned newspaper has not taken this angle into its analysis.