Source:-Doklam standoff: Here’s why Japan’s open support to India may spell trouble for China
Japan found same cause with India when its envoy to Delhi publicly took a dig at China for attempting to unilaterally alter the status quo at the disputed tri-junction point in Doklam.
Tokyo is no stranger to the Chinese strategy of unilaterally attempting to change status quo along disputed territories having faced a similar situation over Senkaku Islands. China and Japan were locked in a prolonged standoff over the islands between 2012 and 2014. Chinese belligerence is far from over as it continues its intransigence over Senkaku islands.
What is interesting though that Japan is the only country which has so far openly supported India over the border standoff in what would be indication of a deepening Indo-Japanese strategic partnership that aimed at upholding rule of law and international norms in Asia.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s scheduled trip to India mid-September for the annual summit would be another attempt to emphasise on the alliances of like-minded powers in Asia against unilateralism and militarisation. Stability of the Indo-Pacific region is paramount and Indo-Japanese collaboration is aimed at that, according to officials from both countries. Japan’s public support to India on Doklam is critical for maintaining equilibrium in Asian landscape.
While the standoff between 2012-14 over Senkaku may be behind, China continues to up the ante on the island chain at different periods depending on the geopolitical situation. The US administration and US-Japan security partnership were tested within months of Donld Trump taking over as the US President through assertions over Senkaku Islands by China.
This May Japan scrambled warplanes after four Chinese coastguard ships and a drone aircraft entered territory it claims around Senkaku Islands.
“China is escalating the situation unilaterally and this is totally unacceptable,” Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada had stated on that occasion. For the fiscal year that ended March 31, Japan said it scrambled aircraft a total of 1,168 times, or on average, a little over three times per day. Chinese incursions were the reason for 73% of those missions, Japan’s defense ministry said in an report in April.
The Senkaku island chain lies almost 1,900 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. Although the islands are uninhabited, their ownership would allow for exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in the surrounding waters. Though claims to the island chain date back centuries, the recent round of tensions began in 2012. Incidentally it was around same time in 2011-12 that China was upping the ante in the South China Sea region (SCS) challenging sovereignty of various countries in that area and even protested India’s presence in the hydrocarbon blocks in Vietnam’s waters in SCS.
In 2013, China declared a formal Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) covering airspace over the Senkaku islands and overlapping with airspace claimed by Japan. The ADIZ declaration required airlines flying over the waters to first notify China.
Chinese claim over SCS, Senkaku and of late in Doklam, are reflection of its attempts to signal global power status through unilateral actions. However, the Japanese envoy’s public statement could now give confidence to Vietnam which is increasingly finding itself isolated over SCS disputes. While Japan extended public support — two big powers — USA & Russia are working hard behind the scenes to defuse tension over Doklam. The Russian president is expected to have dialogue with both Indian and Chinese leaders on the sidelines of BRICS to defuse tension.
Source:- ET
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