Analyst's note: The recently released Japanese Defense White Paper focused on the China threat and was approved last Thursday. Thought you'd like to know that the current U.S. administration does not get the message as clearly as Tokyo does. Despite what some would have us believe, the world remains a very dangerous place. Sometimes, dialog just doesn't work.
"Japan has published its 2010 Defense White Paper. Minister of Defense Toshimi Kitazawa states in his introduction, "The security environment surrounding Japan is growing increasingly severe, as evidenced by North Korea's nuclear and missile issues, the modernization of China's armed forces, and the intensification of military activities by China and Russia." Tokyo has island territorial disputes with both Beijing and Moscow, and major military maneuvers were held by China and Russia during the summer. In response, the United States and Japan held joint exercises in the Sea of Japan to demonstrate the continued vitality of their 50 year alliance. The white paper notes the "Number of disputes in the so-called 'gray zones' (confrontations over territory, sovereignty and economic interests which have not escalated into wars) is on the increase."
[....] Consider the opening statement by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke at the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade on Dec. 15, "There are so many areas of mutual interest for the U.S. and China to pursue. There is joint research to be done on energy and environmental problems; commercial cooperation to be had between our businesses; and a responsibility for us to spur innovation, not only to create jobs and opportunity; but to deal with global challenges like climate change, poverty, disease and economic inequality." One would never know from Locke that a primary function of Chinese innovation is to build better weapons to aim at American forces. Indeed, the main demand of the Chinese delegation at the JCCT talks was that Washington lift its export controls on "dual use" technology so that Beijing could gain access to more ways to improve its military hardware and weapons production capabilities.
Defense news in the United States continues to be bad. Cracks have been found in the aluminum superstructure of all 22 of the Navy's Ticonderoga-class cruisers. These ships were build during the years 1983-1994 and are another sign of how much America still depends on the Reagan legacy. No cruisers have been built since, nor are any in the works. This means that the Sovremenny-class cruisers China bought from Russia (delivered in 2000-2001) are newer than any American cruiser. The 600-ship fleet that President Ronald Reagan envisioned now numbers only 288 ships.
The deficit review commission wants weapons programs axed, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting has already cut hundreds of projects and is planning more reductions even in the most high priority areas. He capped the F-22 air superiority fighter at 187 aircraft, ending the program just as it was getting into gear. He now wants further cuts in the F-35 joint strike fighter program after already reducing production by 122 aircraft over the next five years. Cutting back the defense industry during a recession is bad for the economy as well as for national security; whereas building equipment the country needs is good for both. But such fundamental logic is lost in the fantasy world of liberalism. [....]"
