Okinawa and the Security Context Three Years after UTS III

This page gives an overview of the broader international and security issues that relate to the US bases in Okinawa since Uchinanchu Talk Story III in March 2013.

March 2013 – Xi Jinping becomes President of China.

“Xi Jinping.” In Encyclopaedia Brittanica.

“Xi Jinping’s Asian Security Dream.”  The Diplomat, 8 July 2016.

March 2014 – Kim Jong-un becomes Supreme Leader of North Korea.

“One-Family Rule: North Korea’s Hereditary Authoritarianism.”  World Politics Review, 18 February 2014.

December 2014 – Shinzo Abe wins third term as Prime Minister of Japan.

“Abe vows to stay the course in third term as prime minister.”  The Japan Times, 24 December 2014.

September 2015 – Japan’s House of Councillors, the upper house of the Japanese parliament, pass a bill that reinterpreted Article 9 of the Japanese constitution to allow for “collective self-defense.”

“Japan Curtails Its Pacifist Stance.”  The Atlantic, 19 September 2015.

February 2016 — A major trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership was signed by twelve Pacific Rim countries including the United States and Japan.

“The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal: An overview.”  Ballotpedia, N.D.

February 2016 – Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for the changing of Article 9 of the Constitution which prohibits Japan from possessing a military force.

“Abe explicit in call for amendment to Constitution’s Article 9.”  The Japan Times, 3 February 2016.

May 2016 – The Obama administration announced that it would fully lift a longstanding US embargo on lethal arms sales to Vietnam.  The decision reflects growing concerns about China’s growing military clout in the region.

“In historic move, U.S. lifts embargo on arms sales to Vietnam.”  The Washington Post, 23 May 2016.

June 2016 – Japan warns China of consequences if a Chinese naval vessel near the disputed Senkaku Islands entered into Japanese territorial waters.

“Japan warned China as naval vessel neared Senkakus, sources say.”  The Japan Times, 19 June 2016.

June 2016 – North Korea successfully launches two intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

“North Korea’s Musudan Missile Test Actually Succeeded.  What Now?”  The Diplomat, 23 June 2016.

July 2016 – The Permanent Court of Arbitration based in Hague finds no legal basis for China’s claim to historic rights to resources in areas falling within its nine-dash line, based on a vague map that emerged in the 1940s.  It further found that Beijing had violaed the Philippines’ sovereign rights to exploit resources in waters up to 340 km beyond its coast, the exclusive economic zone.

“Philippines: no concession to Chia over Hague ruling.”  South China Morning Post, 16 July 2016.

July 2016 – In mid July, North Korea fired off 3 missiles and resumed coded radio broadcasts activities that have puzzled government officials and stirred up concerns about possible military actions by North Korea.

“North Korea Revives Coded Spy Broadcasts After 16-Year Silence.”  The New York Times, 21 July 2016.

 

Resources

“Strategic Uncertainty and the Regional Security Order in East Asia.”  E-International Relations, 24 November 2015.

“Geoeconomics and Statecraft in the Asia-Pacific.”  The Diplomat, 21 May 2016.

“Understanding the Issue of U.S. Military Bases in Okinawa.”  Asie.Visions 29, June 2010.

“Trans-Paciic Partnership, Pivot and Pathway.”  The Hawaii Independent, 6 November 2015.