World View: Japan and Vietnam Boost Military Ties to Counter China

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• China continues rapid military deployment in South China Sea
• Japan and Vietnam boost military ties to counter China

China continues rapid military deployment in South China Sea

Construction of large facilities on China’s artificial island in the South China Sea

China’s Vice Adm. Yuan Yubai on Sunday at a meeting in London repeated the unambiguous claim about the entire South China Sea: “The South China Sea, as the name indicated, is a sea area. It belongs to China.”

Japan’s Vice Adm. Umio Otsuka, who was also present at the meeting, responded by mocking and making fun of Yuan’s remarks, comparing it to a wife’s romantic dream.

However, for China’s military, the annexation of the entire South China Sea is a repeatedly stated military objective. China is now building its third artificial island, with the apparent purpose of turning all of them into military bases, in order to use military force to annex valuable fishing grounds and oil fields that belong to other countries. China is following an extremely dangerous policy that almost always leads to a major war, with the most obvious historical example being Hitler’s annexation of Czechoslovakia and Poland. China’s actions are going to lead to a world war, and historians will look back on the Chinese as being worse than the Nazis. Defense One and The Diplomat

Japan and Vietnam boost military ties to counter China

With China’s increasing belligerence in the South China Sea, Japan and Vietnam announced on Wednesday that Japan will provide two patrol boats to Vietnam, provide $832 million in infrastructure aid, and take other measures to help Vietnam’s military security versus China.

Although Japan does not have property claims on the South China Sea, it is still directly affected by China’s belligerence. The South China Sea is the biggest commercial shipping region in the world, and Chinese control of the South China Sea would severely penalize Japan. According to one analyst, “Japan wants to give the Southeast Asian states resources so they are not totally victimized by China. Chinese assertions of sovereignty in the South China Sea scare Japan more than any other country. Almost all of its energy comes through there.” The Diplomat and Bloomberg and Al Jazeera

KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Japan, Vietnam, China, South China Sea, Vice Adm. Yuan Yubai, Vice Adm. Umio Otsuka
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