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Book Japan   s Defense Engagement in the Indo Pacific

Download or read book Japan s Defense Engagement in the Indo Pacific written by Nanae Baldauff and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Japan   s Defense Engagement in the Indo Pacific

Download or read book Japan s Defense Engagement in the Indo Pacific written by Nanae Baldauff and published by Springer. This book was released on 2024-07-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This original book systematically examines Japan’s defense engagement with its strategic partners since the end of the Cold War based on Japan’s national security strategy. The author maps three defense engagement activities: military exercises, capacity building, and defense equipment transfer and technology cooperation – and subsequently evaluates these against the three national security objectives: deterrence, cooperative security, and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision. The book asks two important research questions: why is Japan active in defense engagement with the armed forces of its strategic partners? And, what purposes do Japan’s self-defense forces pursue? Through the ten carefully selected cases of strategic partners: Australia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, ASEAN, the UK, France, NATO, and the EU, the book follows a structured, cross-case comparison based on the analytical framework developed for the research. It also discusses the evolution of Japan’s postwar defense policy, providing a solid background for the case studies. The book overall argues that, while the Japan-US alliance is still the most indispensable, Japan’s strategic partnerships are a valuable instrument of deterrence that contributes to Japan’s national security objectives. In order to more effectively pursue these objectives and thus secure the national interest, Japan must pursue a purpose-driven defense engagement.

Book The Challenges of the U S  Japan Military Arrangement

Download or read book The Challenges of the U S Japan Military Arrangement written by Anthony DiFilippo and published by M.E. Sharpe. This book was released on 2002 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an in-depth analysis of the U.S.-Japan security alliance and its implications for Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. It moves away from the official line that the alliance is a vital aspect of Japan's security policy and introduces issues and arguments that are often overlooked: American security policy has failed to achieve its goals; Japan's interests are not fully served by the alliance; the alliance itself is a source of instability in the region; and the arrangement has placed constraints on Japan's own political development. The author measures current developments in U.S. foreign policy against Japan's role in the region and Japan's own political development. He assesses the consequences of the alliance for the current regional situation in Northeast Asia, looks at future policy options for Japan, and makes the case for a neutralist security policy.

Book U S  Indo Pacific Command

Download or read book U S Indo Pacific Command written by Motohiro Tsuchiya and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-11-01 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this book is to introduce readers to INDOPACOM, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in a region covering approximately 50 percent of the Earth from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean. INDOPACOM has not received much attention in Japan compared to USFJ or the US Seventh Fleet. This book shines a spotlight on INDOPACOM in an effort to promote an understanding of its various aspects. The mission of INDOPACOM is to protect U.S. territory, people, and national interests. However, it also includes protection of the countries within its geographic scope that are U.S. allies and security partners. INDOPACOM and its precursor Pacific Command, established in 1947, have always been major contributors to the peace and safety of Japan in the post-World War II era. In view of the importance of U.S. interests in Northeast Asia, the region also has two Sub-Unified Combatant Commands called United States Forces Japan (USFJ) and United States Forces Korea (USFK). Each of these organizations strives to strengthen the relationship with the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Republic of Korea armed forces. Together, the United States, Japan and our partners around the globe will continue to safeguard the rules-based security order that has underpinned peace and prosperity for decades.

Book European Defence Engagement in the Indo Pacific  a View from Tokyo

Download or read book European Defence Engagement in the Indo Pacific a View from Tokyo written by Nanae Baldauff and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most recently, Japan’s Defence Minister Kishi said the international community must be aware of a possible Crimea-style invasion of Taiwan by China. With the objective of realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, the six-nation naval exercise that took place near Okinawa and the South China Sea among Japan, the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, and New Zealand between 2 and 9 October for air defence, anti-submarine warfare, communications, and replenishment-at-sea must be understood against the background of this intense military environment.

Book Indo Pacific Strategy Report   Preparedness  Partnerships  and Promoting a Networked Region  2019 DoD Report  China as Revisionist Power  Russia as Revitalized Malign Actor  North Korea as Rogue State

Download or read book Indo Pacific Strategy Report Preparedness Partnerships and Promoting a Networked Region 2019 DoD Report China as Revisionist Power Russia as Revitalized Malign Actor North Korea as Rogue State written by U S Military and published by . This book was released on 2019-06-02 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This important report was issued by the Department of Defense in June 2019. The Indo-Pacific is the Department of Defense's priority theater. The United States is a Pacific nation; we are linked to our Indo-Pacific neighbors through unbreakable bonds of shared history, culture, commerce, and values. We have an enduring commitment to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific in which all nations, large and small, are secure in their sovereignty and able to pursue economic growth consistent with accepted international rules, norms, and principles of fair competition. The continuity of our shared strategic vision is uninterrupted despite an increasingly complex security environment. Inter-state strategic competition, defined by geopolitical rivalry between free and repressive world order visions, is the primary concern for U.S. national security. In particular, the People's Republic of China, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, seeks to reorder the region to its advantage by leveraging military modernization, influence operations, and predatory economics to coerce other nations. In contrast, the Department of Defense supports choices that promote long-term peace and prosperity for all in the Indo-Pacific. We will not accept policies or actions that threaten or undermine the rules-based international order - an order that benefits all nations. We are committed to defending and enhancing these shared values.China's economic, political, and military rise is one of the defining elements of the 21st century. Today, the Indo-Pacific increasingly is confronted with a more confident and assertive China that is willing to accept friction in the pursuit of a more expansive set of political, economic, and security interests. Perhaps no country has benefited more from the free and open regional and international system than China, which has witnessed the rise of hundreds of millions from poverty to growing prosperity and security. Yet while the Chinese people aspire to free markets, justice, and the rule of law, the People's Republic of China (PRC), under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), undermines the international system from within by exploiting its benefits while simultaneously eroding the values and principles of the rules-based order.This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. 1. Introduction * 1.1. America's Historic Ties to the Indo-Pacific * 1.2. Vision and Principles for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific * 2. Indo-Pacific Strategic Landscape: Trends and Challenges * 2.1. The People's Republic of China as a Revisionist Power * 2.2. Russia as a Revitalized Malign Actor * 2.3. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a Rogue State * 2.4. Prevalence of Transnational Challenges * 3. U.S. National Interests and Defense Strategy * 3.1. U.S. National Interests * 3.2. U.S. National Defense Strategy * 4. Sustaining U.S. Influence to Achieve Regional Objectives * 4.1. Line of Effort 1: Preparedness * 4.2. Line of Effort 2: Partnerships * 4.3. Line of Effort 3: Promoting a Networked Region * Conclusion

Book Hindsight  Insight  Foresight  Thinking About Security in the Indo Pacific

Download or read book Hindsight Insight Foresight Thinking About Security in the Indo Pacific written by Alexander L. Vuving and published by Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. This book was released on 2020-09-30 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hindsight, Insight, Foresight is a tour d’horizon of security issues in the Indo-Pacific. Written by 20 current and former members of the faculty at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, its 21 chapters provide hindsight, insight, and foresight on numerous aspects of security in the region. This book will help readers to understand the big picture, grasp the changing faces, and comprehend the local dynamics of regional security.

Book Japan  Australia and Asia Pacific Security

Download or read book Japan Australia and Asia Pacific Security written by Brad Williams and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-09-27 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The threats to security in Southeast Asia have been serious and constant since the end of the Second World War. The book provides an absorbing account of the evolution of a key axis of regional stability - defence contacts between Japan and Australia, tracing the relationship from the early post-war period to the post-9/11 present. Though most works have focused on their economic nexus, Japan and Australia’s defences and security ties have assumed increasing importance since the mid-1990s. With problems such as North Korea’s nuclear program and the China-Taiwan standoff threatening regional stability, the two countries have sought to strengthen bilateral relations, and indications are that this relationship is likely to grow in the future. Japan, Australia and Asia-Pacific Security explores the evolution of their relationship in the broader context of Asia-Pacific security, addressing regional, sub-regional and transnational issues. This captivating book will be welcomed by those with an interest in Asian politics, international relations, and security studies.

Book Operationalising Deterrence in the Indo Pacific

Download or read book Operationalising Deterrence in the Indo Pacific written by Ashley Townshend and published by United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and Pacific Forum. This book was released on 2020-04-02 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific, the United States, Australia and their regional allies and partners face a myriad of strategic challenges that cut across every level of the competitive space. Driven by China’s use of multidimensional coercion in pursuit of its aim to displace the United States as the region’s dominant power, a new era of strategic competition is unfolding. At stake is the stability and character of the Indo-Pacific order, hitherto founded on American power and longstanding rules and norms, all of which are increasingly uncertain. The challenges that Beijing poses the region operate over multiple domains and are prosecuted by the Chinese Communist Party through a whole-of-nation strategy. In the grey zone between peace and war, tactics like economic coercion, foreign interference, the use of civil militias and other forms of political warfare have become Beijing’s tools of choice for pursuing incremental shifts to the geostrategic status quo. These efforts are compounded by China’s rapidly growing conventional military power and expanding footprint in the Western Pacific, which is raising the spectre of a limited war that America would find it difficult to deter or win. All of this is taking place under the lengthening shadow of Beijing’s nuclear modernisation and its bid for new competitive advantages in emerging strategic technologies. Strengthening regional deterrence and counter-coercion in light of these challenges will require the United States and Australia — working independently, together and with their likeminded partners — to develop more integrated strategies for the Indo-Pacific region and novel ways to operationalise the alliance in support of deterrence objectives. There is widespread support for this agenda in both Washington and Canberra. As the Trump administration’s 2018 National Defense Strategy makes clear, allies provide an “asymmetric advantage” for helping the United States deter aggression and uphold favourable balances of power around the world. Australia’s Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds mirrored this sentiment in a major speech in Washington last November, observing that “deterrence is a joint responsibility for a shared purpose — one that no country, not even the United States, can undertake alone.” Forging greater coordination on deterrence strategy within the US-Australia alliance, however, is no easy task, particularly when this undertaking is focussed on China’s coercive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific. Although Canberra and Washington have overlapping strategic objectives, their interests and threat perceptions regarding China are by no means symmetrical. Each has very different capabilities, policy priorities and tolerance for accepting costs and risks. Efforts to operationalise deterrence must therefore proceed incrementally and on the basis of robust alliance dialogue. To advance this process of bilateral strategic policy debate, the United States Studies Centre and Pacific Forum hosted the second round of the Annual Track 1.5 US-Australia Deterrence Dialogue in Washington in November 2019, bringing together US and Australian experts from government and non-government organisations. The theme for this meeting was “Operationalising Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific,” with a focus on exploring tangible obstacles and opportunities for improving the alliance’s collective capacity to deter coercive changes to the regional order. Both institutions would like to thank the Australian Department of Defence Strategic Policy Grants Program and the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency for their generous support of this engagement. The following analytical summary reflects the authors’ accounts of the dialogue’s proceedings and does not necessarily represent their own views. It endeavours to capture, examine and contextualise a wide range of perspectives and debates from the discussion; but does not purport to offer a comprehensive record. Nothing in the following pages represents the views of the Australian Department of Defence, the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency or any of the other officials or organisations that took part in the dialogue.

Book The U S  Japan Alliance

Download or read book The U S Japan Alliance written by Michael J. Green and published by Council on Foreign Relations. This book was released on 1999 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the cold war, the U.S.-Japan alliance was at the core of American presence, power, and prestige in the Asia-Pacific Region. When the Cold War ended, many questioned whether the alliance would continue to serve U.S. and Japanese interests. In the late 1990s the United States and Japan answered that question with a formal reaffirmation of the security treaty and the upgrading of bilateral guidelines for defense cooperation. But the alliance has also faced new challenges: domestic opposition to U.S. bases in Okinawa; Chinese criticism of a stronger U.S.-Japan security relationship; and growing international frustration with Japan's economic policies. The alliance remains crucial to both nations' interests, but the management of bilateral security ties has become far more complex. The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Past, Present, and Future explains the inner workings of the U.S.-Japan alliance and recommends new approaches to sustaining this critical bilateral security relationship. The authors are scholars and practitioners who understand where the alliance came from, how it is managed, and the strategic decisions that will have to be made in the future.

Book Japan s new security partnerships

Download or read book Japan s new security partnerships written by Wilhelm Vosse and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-17 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After decades of solely relying on the United States for its national security needs, over the last decade, Japan has begun to actively develop and deepen its security ties with a growing number of countries and actors in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, a development that has further intensified under the Shinzo Abe administration. This is the first book that provides a comprehensive analysis of the motives and objectives from both the Japanese and the partner-countries’ perspectives, and asks what this might mean for the security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, and what lessons can be learned for security cooperation more broadly. This book is for those interested in Japan’s security policy beyond the US-Japan security alliance, and non-US centred bilateral and multilateral security cooperation. It is an ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate level courses on regional security cooperation and strategic partnerships, and Japanese foreign and security policy.

Book The Courteous Power

    Book Details:
  • Author : John D. Ciorciari
  • Publisher : University of Michigan Press
  • Release : 2021-11-08
  • ISBN : 047205497X
  • Pages : 333 pages

Download or read book The Courteous Power written by John D. Ciorciari and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2021-11-08 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining the pivotal relationship between Japan and Southeast Asia, as it has changed and endured into the Indo-Pacific Era

Book European Engagement in the Maritime Security in Indo Pacific

Download or read book European Engagement in the Maritime Security in Indo Pacific written by Tuki Tatsumi and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since a 2010 incident of Chinese fishing vessels colliding into the Japan Coast Guard’s ships, China’s activities around the Senkaku Islands and the broader East China Sea only grew more aggressive and more frequent. Facing increasing pressure from China in the East China Sea, Japan welcomes greater European engagement in the Indo-Pacific.In her paper, Yuki Tatsumi argues that Japan primarily considers Europe a diplomatic and strategic partner to help maintain a value-based liberal international order in the Indo-Pacific region.Japan hopes that greater activity in the region by European countries would raise the stakes for China if it continues its aggressive behavior in the region, thereby deterring Beijing in non-confrontational ways.

Book United States Engagement in the Asia Pacific  Perspectives from Asia

Download or read book United States Engagement in the Asia Pacific Perspectives from Asia written by Yoichiro Sato and published by Cambria Press. This book was released on 2015-07-15 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study brings together Asian and Asia-based experts of international relations and U.S. foreign policy to present diverse Asian views about preferred modes of U.S. engagement in the region and compare their views with U.S. interests in the region-a prerequisite exercise to truly multilateral regional security governance. With the rise of Chinese power in absolute and relative terms over the next decades as a key driving factor of the international relations in the Asia Pacific, the United States has announced its "Rebalance to Asia" (previously referred as "Pivot to Asia") strategy. Asian responses, perceptions, and even interpretations of the U.S. strategy have been diverse. Misconceptions of the U.S. strategy can be attributed to the built-in contradictions among its objectives, deliberate ambiguities left by the architects of the strategy, mismatch between the stated strategy and actual policy implementations during the last three years, and subjective reading by the Asian countries through the lens of their own interests. This book will illuminate the diversity of Asian responses and perceptions and analyze the underlying reasons of the diversity. The overarching framework of analysis for this book is the very dilemma of alliances-abandonment and entrapment-which "hedging" aims at evading. "Abandonment" fear is primarily of the junior partner of an alliance that its senior partner may not come to its aid in crisis. Meanwhile, "entrapment" fear works both ways. The United States may drag its allies into its conflict against a third party, but U.S. allies may also drag the United States into their regional conflicts in which the United States has no direct or significant stake. The Asian choices of their strategic responses to the U.S. Rebalancing will be described and analyzed through the lens of the perceived balance between the abandonment and entrapment fears as well as other historical and domestic factors unique to each Asian country. The reading of the U.S. strategy by Asian countries is a subjective matter, and their interests likely influence their analysis and consequently strategies. It is not the aim of this volume to establish well defined "cause-and-effect" chain between the U.S. strategy and Asian strategies, but thick descriptions have enabled some chapter authors to identify reciprocal relations between the two. While China's growth is the most important driver of the changing strategic landscape in the Asia Pacific and the new U.S. strategy, the new U.S. strategy inevitably influence the Chinese strategy, which in turn triggers a chain reaction of strategic revisions in Asian countries. This book is essential reading for scholars in Asian politics, U.S. foreign policy, international relations as well as for policy makers.

Book From Militarism to Pacifism

    Book Details:
  • Author : U. S. Military
  • Publisher : Independently Published
  • Release : 2019-01-26
  • ISBN : 9781795226820
  • Pages : 84 pages

Download or read book From Militarism to Pacifism written by U. S. Military and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-01-26 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Japanese are proceeding towards an Article 9 revision, and have been for some time. Careful consideration must be given to avoid a miscalculation that might threaten the peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Evolving from militarism to passive pacifism, the Japanese now need to evolve further into proactive pacifism to address today's security environment. Real security threats exist for the Japanese, driving shifts in public opinion and policy for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. These new challenges, both internally to Japan and within the Indo-Pacific region, require an introspective look at outdated elements of the Japanese Constitution like Article 9. The potential ramifications of permanent constitutional changes are likely to be significant, but revision of Article 9 remains the logical conclusion to addressing these challenges. The United States must support its long-standing ally, as Japan takes the next logical step in reaffirming its rightful place alongside other reasonable actors in the Indo-Pacific region.Soon, the Japanese government will legitimize the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) by amending the second clause to Article 9 of its Constitution. Changes to Article 9 may upset decades of status quo in the security environment and a perception of pacifism enjoyed by Japan today. Consequences for such a course of action could be beneficial or detrimental to the Indo-Pacific region, depending on whether the Japanese make a miscalculation in executing the change. Careful considerations must be made by both Japan and its ally, the United States, to fully understand the ramifications of such a decision and to demonstrate to others how the benefits outweigh any perceived problems for making this change.With resurging military powers now capable of challenging the status quo, the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region has changed since World War II. The People's Republic of China (PRC), despite being decimated by two wars with Japan, has recovered and today is a regional power with global actions and ambitions. The PRC military continues to grow in size and strength, mustering the largest armed force in the world. As the Chinese occupy and develop new territories, like islands in the South China Sea, the PRC military plays an increasing role in its strategy. The PRC, embracing expansionism, as Japan once did, now influences other continents, like Africa and the Americas. Actors, like Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), inflame the security environment by choosing to nuclearize, elevating its arsenal in an effort to reach greater global notoriety. While its arsenal is threatening on its own, the DPRK also demonstrates the willingness to provoke Japan, disregarding established norms through frequent, unannounced ballistic missile testing in and around the islands of Japan. The Indo-Pacific region is less secure today.

Book Japan s Emergent Security Policy

Download or read book Japan s Emergent Security Policy written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan, long regarded as America's bedrock ally in the Asia-Pacific region, is in the midst of the most extensive review of defense policy in more than twenty years. The results of this assessment will likely unfold incrementally rather than in one fell swoop. Nonetheless, by the end of the century we should see a new security relationship between Washington and Tokyo, more autonomous Japanese military capabilities, and increased participation on the part of Japan in multilateral security organizations. At the core of this rethinking is the likely emergence of a National Defense Program Outline in the coming year. Current Japanese defense planning is based upon guidelines outlined in 1976. A special advisory panel was named in early 1994 to restructure the outline to reflect the emerging global order. The panel delivered a report on "The Modality of the Security and Defense Capability of Japan: The Outlook for the 21st Century" to Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in August 1994. The National Defense Program is now under review, with an official version expected by year's end. Even if the advisory report receives a dilatory response, it will survive as a powerful guide for Japanese defense planners. Above all, the report calls for a new comprehensive strategy, arguing that "Japan should extricate itself from its security policy of the past that was, if anything, passive, and henceforth play an active role in shaping a new order." Japan's post-Cold War strategy should rest on heightened multilateral cooperation, continued alliance with America, and well-balanced, ready, and mobile military forces.

Book Paths Diverging

    Book Details:
  • Author : William E. Rapp
  • Publisher :
  • Release : 2004-01-30
  • ISBN : 9781463504304
  • Pages : 98 pages

Download or read book Paths Diverging written by William E. Rapp and published by . This book was released on 2004-01-30 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the United States is the sole superpower in the world, it increasingly faces an objectives-means shortfall in attaining its global interests unilaterally. Sustaining its engagement in the far reaches of the world requires the partnership of capable, willing and like-minded states. In the Asia-Pacific region, the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance will remain vital to achieving both countries' national interests in the next 2 decades because of a lack of strategic options, though the commitment of both partners is likely to be sorely tested. Should conditions arise that give either the United States or Japan a viable alternative to advance stability and national interests, the alliance could be in doubt. Having depended on the United States for security for over 50 years, Japan is now actively trying to chart its new path for the future. Japan is in the midst of a fundamental reexamination of its security policy and its role in international relations that will have a dramatic impact on East Asia and the Pacific. Within Japan, many see the traditional means of security policy as being out of balance and vulnerable in the post-Cold War environment. The triad of economic diplomacy, engagement with international organizations, and a minimalist military posture predicated on a capable self-defense force with American guarantees of protection, heavily weighted toward economic diplomacy, is not seen by the Japanese to be adequately achieving the national interests and influence that country seeks. Regardless of the more realist imperatives, Japan remains deeply ambivalent toward security expansion. However, despite domestic restraints, Japan will continue slowly and incrementally to remove the shackles on its military security policy. Attitudinal barriers, such as pacifism, anti militarism, security insulation, and desire for consensus combine with institutional barriers, like coalition politics, lack of budget space, and entrenched bureaucracy, to confound rapid shifts in security policy, though those changes will eventually occur. The ambivalence Japan feels clouds the ideal path to the future for the nation in trying to find a way forward among competing goals of preventing either entrapment or abandonment by the United States and pursuing self-interest. Because Japan is risk-averse, but increasingly self-aware, dramatic (in Japanese terms) security policy changes will continue to be made in small, but cumulative steps. These changes in security policy and public acquiescence to them will create pressure on the alliance to reduce asymmetries and offensive burdens since the ideal, long-term security future for Japan does not rely on the current role vis-à-vis the United States. Both Japan and the United States must move out of their comfort zones to create a more balanced relationship that involves substantial consultation and policy accommodation, a greater risk-taking Japanese role in the maintenance of peace and stability of the region, and coordinated action to resolve conflicts and promote prosperity in the region. Because neither country has a viable alternative to the alliance for the promotion of security and national interests in the region, especially given the uncertainties of the future trends in China and the Korean Peninsula, for the next couple of decades the alliance will remain central to achieving the interests of both Japan and the United States. A more symmetrical alliance can be a positive force for regional stability and prosperity in areas of engagement of China, proactive shaping of the security environment, the protection of maritime commerce routes, and the countering of weapons proliferation, terrorism, and drug trafficking. Without substantive change, though, the centrality of the alliance will diminish as strategic alternatives develop for either the United States or Japan.