Can Japan-US Security Treaty protect Japan?

Dispute over the Diaoyu Islands are heating up recently. Japan’s tough stance on the issue can be attributed to not only domestic political factors but also U.S. involvement in the affairs in Asia Pacific.

After the collision between Chinese and Japanese vessels in waters off the Diaoyu Islands in 2010, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said for the first time that Article 5 of the Japan-US Security Treaty is applicable for the Diaoyu Islands issue. After Japan staged the farce of buying the Diaoyu Islands in July this year, the United States reiterated that the Treaty can be applied to the Islands. The spokesperson of the State Department also reaffirmed the U.S. stance on various occasions after Chinese activists landed on the islands.

The seemingly close Japan-US relations reveal the complex background of recent escalation of the Diaoyu Islands issue. However, it seems that it is just Japan’s unilateral willingness to provoke conflicts and then shelter under the umbrella of the Japan- US Security Treaty on the issue of Diaoyu Islands.

Most viewed commentaries
China is capable of dealing with outside ‘troubles’	Japan must think about consequences before provoking China	How long will US continue arms sales to Taiwan?
What is solution of the Diaoyu Islands issue?	Legal basis of China’s indisputable sovereignty over Diaoyu Islands	US-Japan war games will miss target