Influencing Outcomes in East Asia by Leveraging the U.S./Japan Security Alliance
Semester
The aim of this Capstone project is to identify the current regional security challenges the United States is facing in East Asia. The two leading challenges are Chinese expansion in the South China Sea and the continued pursuit of a nuclear and ballistic missile program by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Due to these security threats, it is vital for the United States and Japan to address these challenges to help ensure regional peace and stability.
The United States has publicly announced its “pivot” to Asia and Japan has pushed new security legislation through the Diet. Regional stakeholders are themselves “pivoting” towards the United States sphere of influence in response to Chinese activity. With $5.3 trillion in trade and 80 percent of Japan’s oil imports passing through the South China Sea, it is imperative that the United States ensure a stable area for the movement of commerce. There is room for both Chinese growth and a continued U.S. security presence as long as stakeholders operate by established international rules and norms.
The Capstone team recommends that the United States continue to foster Japanese defense sector growth, pursue multilateral freedom of navigation operations, and develop a joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance program with regional partners in order to apply pressures to China. Additionally, the team recommends increased U.S. diplomatic outreach to East Asian countries in order to pursue a negotiated demilitarization of China’s islands in the South China Sea and utilize the potential of a bolstered missile defense system in Japan as a bargaining chip.