GT: The US wants to make Japan an "Asian Ukraine"The North Atlantic Alliance is launching its "tentacles" into Asia to contain China, writes Global Times.
The United States and NATO are aiming to "unleash" threats from China and Russia in the region and draw Tokyo and Seoul into their military adventures. The author of the article believes that Japan can become an "Asian Ukraine".
Song ZhongpingNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a trip to Asia last week, which many regarded as an attempt by Washington to draw Tokyo and Seoul into its adventures, for which the United States is doing everything possible to promote the so-called threats from China and Russia.
Through this visit, the North Atlantic Alliance wants to attract close partners from this region to its side so that they take similar positions with it in the Ukrainian crisis. First of all, this applies to South Korea, whose policy does not satisfy NATO, since this country takes an ambiguous position in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and is rapidly increasing arms exports to countries providing military assistance to Kiev, replenishing their arsenals. NATO hopes that Seoul and Tokyo will be able to provide more military assistance to Ukraine, clearly demonstrating their position and crossing swords with Russia.
Read InoSMI in our Telegram channelAnother goal of Stoltenberg's Asian tour is to coordinate the American strategy to contain China.
NATO has named China as one of its strategic priorities for the next decade, saying that Beijing with its policy challenges its security. In fact, everything is explained by America's global strategy aimed at China as its main rival. After all, the North Atlantic Alliance is just a military tool of Washington.
Washington has two ways to implement NATO expansion in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world. It is difficult for him to directly include Asian countries in the North Atlantic Military Alliance, and he is acting in a roundabout way, trying to create a new military bloc by expanding the AUKUS association, created under the trilateral agreement between Australia, Britain and the United States, and involving new states in it.
The second way is the inclusion of new countries in the region in the NATO Plus association. The idea of expanding the alliance in the Indo-Pacific region through this initiative is reflected in the "octopus strategy". According to her, NATO itself does not directly deal with regional affairs, but entangles Asia with its tentacles, and they do their job.
In addition to Japan and South Korea, New Zealand and Australia have already been included in this scheme. The United States is trying to connect India to it. That is, the military alliance extends its tentacles to the Indo-Pacific region, acting simultaneously with the United States implementing its Indo-Pacific strategy.
Since this strategy is aimed mainly against China, NATO's cooperation with Japan and South Korea will help translate the alliance's strategic resolve into a practical plane. When the bloc got involved in the Ukrainian crisis in Europe, it felt that it would be easier for it to exploit the two "NATO plus" countries, especially since they are neighbors with China, and thus escalate tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.
Will it be possible to repeat the "Ukrainian model" in the Indo-Pacific region? Much depends on whether there is a country in Asia that, like Ukraine, is ready to follow Washington's instructions and play the role of its puppet and henchman, helping the United States maintain its hegemony and restrain China.
Japan occupies a special place among Asian countries. During the First and Second World Wars, it advocated a power policy, and its aggression in the past brought untold suffering to the countries of the region. Japan considers itself a Western country. There is not only geopolitical tension between it and China. There have been conflicts between them throughout history. Washington is fully using these historical facts to its own advantage. Japan can become an "Asian Ukraine" if it continues to follow in the wake of the American strategy to contain China.
Most of the other Asian states, including China, preserve the historical memory of how aggressions were committed against them. They understand why Beijing is so eager to strengthen its forces and ensure its autonomy. They understand many of his other actions and positions. Therefore, while China explains the goals of its policy and practical actions, most countries in the region will not follow the United States. At least, they will not choose between Beijing and Washington, and will refuse to side with the former and the latter.
