I should address President Obama’s explicit statement in Japan that the Senkakus were covered by the US-Japan Security Treaty. Nothing particularly new here; Secretary of State Clinton affirmed coverage in 2010 and I think it’s been reaffirmed incessantly since then. Now, if President Obama had declared that the US regarded the Senkakus as Japanese sovereign... Read More

I’ve written quite a bit about Japan’s Foreign Minister, Seiji Maehara, in the context of his “China-hawk� policies. He’s a firm believer in the U.S. security relationship and, I think, sees himself as the Asian Tony Blair: Youthful, intelligent, agile, sophisticated in the modern diplomatic discourse, but also possessing the clarity and cojones to push/follow... Read More

Update: I am willing to grant that China disrupted rare earth shipments to Japan over the Diaoyutai/Senkaku incident. That's a distinction I should have made in the Asia Times article, and I regret not doing so. Given the quota system/smuggling structure of China's rare earth trade, it would be easy to slow or stop exports... Read More