To understand the great Asia-Pacific power struggle, just look at the map
The United States’ anti-communist containment strategy dates back to its occupation of Japan and shortly after its decolonisation of the Philippines. This strategy is today more active than ever
All hell broke loose in November when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a mainland Chinese military attack or naval blockade on Taiwan could be treated as a “survival-threatening situation” for her country. This legal threshold under Japan’s recently changed security laws could trigger a military response from its Self-Defence Forces.
One reason she cited before the Japanese parliament is that the island is only 100 km from Japan. Since then, she has done little to calm the diplomatic row with Beijing.
It’s anyone’s guess why a mainland attack on the island could be construed as an existential threat to Japan. How about staying away? But voluntarily fighting a nuclear-armed China, which has one of the world’s most powerful militaries, would create a genuine self-made existential threat to Japan.
“In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” he was quoted as saying.
There is always a choice such as staying out of any conflict and evacuating your nationals. Given the history of the Marcos family, it’s hard to know how much they actually care about the Philippine people. They certainly care a lot, though, about what Washington thinks. With the ongoing row between Tokyo and Beijing, Marcos Jnr clearly knows what he is getting into. His message was aimed at Tokyo as much as Beijing and Washington.