Восточная Азия: факты и аналитика (Apr 2023)
The role of the Japan-U.S. Alliance in the regional security system
Abstract
The article highlights the role of the Japan-U.S. military Alliance in regional security at the present stage. The Asia-Pacific region is an important economic and political center that continues to develop at a rapid pace. At the same time, the region's hotbeds of instability and complex of unresolved problems have a negative impact on regional security. The Japan-U.S. Alliance has adapted to modern realities and has gained prominence in the regional security system. The author analyzes the current factors of strengthening the Alliance, including its relations with China and Russia and the situation on the Korean peninsula. The article examines the main contradictions that exist in Japan-China, Japan-North Korea and Japan-Russia relations. Japan continues to consider China and the DPRK as the main sources of threats to regional security. The territorial dispute over the Senkaku (Diaoyu) archipelago remains a stumbling block in Sino-Japanese relations, which also got greatly complicated due to the increased activity of China in the region, particularly in the East China Sea. North Korea's nuclear program and continued missile tests are a serious factor of instability in the Asia-Pacific region and the present situation in the Korean peninsula is a great concern to a number of countries, including Japan. As for Russia-Japan relations, for a long time the main disagreement has been the absence of a peace treaty and Tokyo's territorial claims, but the Ukrainian factor has contributed to increasing tensions between the two countries. The article gives the forecast for Japan's future policy, which would aim to strengthen the alliance, and analyzes the role of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), which includes both Japan and the United States. The author describes the formation of the dialogue, gives a description of its current course of action and makes predictions about its future development. Despite the strong cooperation between the participants in the security field, today the structure of QUAD is still closer to a forum than to a full-fledged organization.
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