Shigeru Ishiba and Japan's Evolving Role in the American Empire

https://reihotakeuchi.substack.com/p/the-new-japanese-prime-ministers

Ishiba who assumed the office of prime minister in October is important because he represents new thinking in terms of Japan's role in the Asia-Pacific and its relationship with the United States. A member of the Far-Right Nippon Kaigi faction (which has a significant presence in the ruling LDP), he seems to represent two tendencies - one, to strengthen Japan's relationship with Washington and build a NATO-type alliance in the Pacific, and two, resentment of US domination and a wish for Japan to re-establish its autonomy and take its place among the great powers.

The Justification and Whitewashing of War Crimes

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/10/feroze-sidhwa-new-york-times-children-gaza-shot-in-head-israel-palestine-doctor/

https://www.democracynow.org/2024/10/16/gaza_doctor

https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/t%C3%AAte-%C3%A0-t%C3%AAte/20241029-us-doctor-claims-israeli-snipers-target-child-in-gaza-no-child-gets-shot-twice-by-mistakea

https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-doctors-gaza

Eighty years after World War II we have an army (ironically a Jewish one) behaving very much like the Nazis, and yet those who protest its actions and conduct are condemned and castigated for their immorality. The mainstream media supports this army and writes apologias for it and in some cases when it cannot stop the story - it censors photos or does whatever it can to soften the effect and the public's ability to perceive the nature and extent of Israeli war crimes.

A Ukraine Miscellany (XX): The End of the Biden Regime

 I more or less dispensed with these 'miscellany' posts in the summer of 2023 due to the ongoing stalemate. There wasn't much to say.

The big events or developments since then are the August 2024 Kursk Offensive in which Ukraine tried to flip the narrative and invade Russian territory. After some initial and yet modest gains the situation turned into another stalemate and now as 2024 comes to a close, they are rapidly losing this captured territory to Moscow.

Exposing Bolton

https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/boltons-big-error-on-china-and-north

Larison states what should be obvious to all – John Bolton is not qualified to speak on this topic. His record as a warmonger and miscalculator is well-established.

The Drums of War in the Asia-Pacific

https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/report-china-is-on-course-to-overtake-america-s-naval-capabilities

If you read the article carefully, the argument can be made that the headline is guilty of sensationalism. America is clearly in the position of supremacy but that margin of domination is not what it was thirty years ago. This I think is probably self-evident and hardly surprising to anyone.

A Ukraine Miscellany (IX): The Global Context and the Shadow of World War (Part II)

One has to be blind to not see that the world is at the very least creeping toward a global war scenario. And the pace is intensifying.

Cold War II: Putting Pressure on China

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/08/05/india-indigenous-aircraft-carrier/

Indian tanks have been seen on maneuvers less than thirty miles from the Chinese border in Ladakh. While the Ladakh-Tibet border does not represent an existential threat to Beijing, the area has been contentious since the two modern nations were formed in the 1940's. China doesn't want to see any kind of turmoil or trouble on the Tibet border – but you can be sure Washington is doing all it can to encourage India to make that trouble.

Building the Anti-Beijing Bloc: The Biden Pivot and the Philippines

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/07/30/philippines-us-military-deal/

During the course of his tenure, Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte has lashed out at Washington. Angry at the long years of US domination of his country and the hypocritical condemnation by Washington of his administration for its brutal policies – he may at last be shifting gears. While he officially is maintaining his 'independent' foreign policy, his days of cozying up to China may be at an end. Time will tell but signals suggest Manila may be pivoting back into the American camp.

Asia is Marching Toward War

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/05/20/japan-must-speed-up-defense-says-minister/

Though it is often presented as a preventative measure, a type of peace through strength, the truth is militarism always results in conflict. And Japan has been rattling the sabre for some time. The Japanese Right is eager to re-arm and re-assert its traditional role in the Asian theatre. They view Japan as a great power on par with Western nations and now 75 years after its defeat in WWII – it's time for Japan to re-assume its place.

Germ Warfare in Korea

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/04/09/new-revelations-on-germ-warfare-its-time-for-a-reckoning-with-our-history-from-the-korean-war/

In 1998 the Wilson Center concluded that the many longstanding claims regarding American use of germ agents during the Korean War were not only not credible, they were based on a hoax. In response to this I would argue that anyone who has spent any time looking into the Wilson Center would have known the germ warfare denial was all but an endorsement of its reality. In other words if the Wilson Center is denying it – it probably happened.

The Asian Underground Railroad

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-china-defectors-feature/chinese-raids-hit-north-korean-defectors-underground-railroad-idUKKCN1TH0VH

Beijing fears a massive influx of North Korean refugees. Despite the perceptions of some, the situation with regard to Pyongyang has not stabilised. Xi Jinping's recent visit to the DPRK was an attempt to shore up Kim Jong Un and indeed from his standpoint Xi's visit was a substantial feather in his cap.

There is no love lost between Beijing and Pyongyang and yet the Chinese government (CCP) fears a collapse and the flood of refugees that would result from it. And so they begrudgingly support the Kim regime. Additionally they do not want the Americans or their proxies (like the ROK) deciding the course of events right on their borders. This was in no small part the reason why Mao intervened in the autumn of 1950.

The North Korean Embassy Raid

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-northkorea-usa/us-arrests-former-marine-connected-to-north-korea-embassy-raid-in-spain-idUSKCN1RV1AJ

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-authorities-make-first-arrest-in-mysterious-raid-of-north-koreas-embassy-in-spain/2019/04/19/bfee15e2-d984-4600-9b63-14270f9b0bb3_story.html?utm_term=.8c6ecd3a93e4

I've been watching the news since this story broke back in February but the story seems to have faded away. Why did a North Korean embassy in Spain become subject to a raid? What was this episode about? The basic questions are still largely unanswered.

Singapore 2018: An Alternate Narrative

The outcome of the Singapore summit is of course unknown but I find several things striking. Or rather, what's striking is what is not being said, how the summit is not being framed.

The Singapore Summit and a Side-Show in Guam

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2018/06/07/Navy-to-start-annual-exercise-Malabar-in-Guam/8941528391096/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=4

This is not getting much coverage in the West but you can be sure it's noteworthy in Asia. The timing says it all.

Atlantic Breakdown in Slow Motion

https://www.euractiv.com/section/eu-china/news/eu-and-china-pledge-to-deepen-relationship-despite-trade-tensions/

Even though the EU and China have their own differences the actions of the United States are forcing both entities to look outward. Trump continues to antagonise Europe, driving them toward the pursuit of their own economic, diplomatic and military agendas.

Remembering Jeju and a Forgotten Chapter of South Korean History

http://www.atimes.com/article/jeju-koreas-island-ghosts-dead-finally-find-voice/

Jeju Island and the massacres that took place in 1948-9 are a largely forgotten precursor to the Korean War which broke out the following year. Forgotten not only in the West even many in South Korea know little about these events. They were suppressed by the government for decades.

NATO on the Korean Peninsula

http://www.dw.com/en/nato-chief-calls-on-un-to-uphold-north-korea-sanctions/a-41193631

http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/policies/view?articleId=150871

This story is something of a stunner and it has received almost no coverage in the West, certainly not in the American mainstream news.

NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has been touring Japan and South Korea and even visited the contentious DMZ. What is the head of NATO doing in Northeast Asia on the Pacific Rim? The timing is also noteworthy as he's passing through just days before Donald Trump's visit to the region.

Placing the American Empire in its Present Context

https://theintercept.com/2017/09/24/decline-american-empire-donald-trump/

I found this article too generous in its assessment of the American Empire and the 'good' it does around the world.

I will grant that the Empire does bring a degree of stability and stability can be a good thing. And yet at what cost? And is stability an end? Are a host of grave sins permissible for the sake of stability? Is this not yet another case of the ends justifying the means?

Many of course would say in the realm of international politics that's about as good as you can hope to get.

While that adage may be true in terms of worldly wisdom, we as Christians should be able to come up with something better.

Sino-Indian Tensions and the Wider Implications

https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21727125-their-stand-reflects-far-deeper-tensions-china-and-india-are-showing-muscle-their-border

*I wrote this about a week ago and didn't manage to publish it until now. As of today (29Aug2017), both sides have initiated a stand down/de-escalation process. Nevertheless it wouldn't take much for the tensions to be re-kindled and it's always there ready to explode. It had been for more than fifty years. The point being that a US war with North Korea and the American relationship with New Delhi have wider Asian implications.

Proxy Sanctions: THAAD and the Republic of Korea

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/07/04/2017070401462.html

Beijing is angry about the US placement of the THAAD missile system in South Korea. With valid reason they view it as a threat and one pointed more at them, than the North Koreans. The rulers of China have decided to punish South Korea through business sanctions.