As the new year unfolds, China finds itself grappling with strategic pressures fuelled by two US treaty allies at its doorstep – Japan and South Korea. In the first of a two-part series, Seong Hyeon Choi looks at how historically fraught China-Japan ties might fare as Tokyo bolsters its military posture with record budgets and advanced weaponry.
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The security document stressed that the United States “must urge” allies such as Japan and South Korea to increase their share of the defence burden to “deter adversaries and protect the first island chain”.
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Also in December, a Pentagon report warned that the Chinese military build-up was leaving the US “vulnerable”, adding to the pressure on Washington’s Indo-Pacific allies to boost defence spending and driving the region towards a tense crossroads between China and its neighbours.