US should learn from allies' actions

Updated: 2014-04-24 07:00

By Gu Yongxing and Cui Jianshu(China Daily)

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That Sino-US ties are the most important bilateral relationship of the 21st century is widely accepted by politicians and scholars on both sides. For the US, that means it cannot ignore China in its global strategy especially when it comes to the Asia-Pacific region.

That's essentially why US President Barack Obama is visiting Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines just one week after US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel concluded his visit to China, Japan and Mongolia. Such frequent visits by top US leaders to Asia carry deep strategic meanings. For instance, their visits are aimed at strengthening the US' ties with its allies in the region, in particular boosting Japan's confidence to counter China's growing influence.

Since the end of 2013 there has been a growing feeling within the US and among its allies that Washington is not being able to protect the latter's core interests. Their worry has aggravated after Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine dealing a blow to the US' image of invincibility.

The US didn't defend Ukraine as the Budapest Memorandum in 1994 requested. This is like a warning for Japan. So Washington must give Tokyo some security reassurance to prevent it from drifting away from the US-Japan alliance. However, the US is not in a position to promise much because it cannot change its position of not involving itself in a possible China-Japan conflict. In fact, raising the tone of rhetoric is an admission of lack of confidence, which is exactly what Hagel has done, and Obama will do in Japan.

The Japanese government seems to have taken Obama's visit as a sign of encouragement for its rightist policies. After Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering to Yasukuni Shrine on April 21, 146 Japanese lawmakers visited the controversial memorial that honors 14 Class-A war criminals.

US leaders also have other purposes for visiting Asia frequently, most important of which is to push forward Obama's "rebalancing" to Asia policy. At present, the five US warships docked in (or sailing around) Japan are equipped with Aegis ballistic missile defense systems. By sending two more ships to Japan, the US can further strengthen the fighting ability of the US-Japan alliance. The move is aimed at containing China, which the US considers as its ultimate competitor in the region.

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