politics

Countering China: U.S., Japan and India push for open Asia

31 Comments
By SAUL LOEB

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31 Comments
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What if we don't side against China, what if the World United, now there's a thought and a reason to be optimistic about the good quality sustainability of all creatures

0 ( +0 / -0 )

theFu, you have no legal authority to speak for Chinese people, only Chinese govt can do that. Why would you force economical difficulties onto Chinese people while the govt is lifting Chinese off poverty ? Where is your moral stance and where is your humanity ?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Brilliantly said, Matt Hartwell. The reason LDP is popular is because the Leadership is strong and effective., unlike hopeless opposition.

LDP is not popular at all. Despite being a ruling party for over 30 years, they are very unpopular in particular among young people and the urban population. You are partly right that they continue to win elections because of weak opposition, but there's more to that. The opposition is weak partly because of the rigged electoral system. LDP's prime voting constituent is still the rural voters whose votes count for two. There is a great book on this topic called ''Democracy without Competition in Japan: Opposition Failure in a One-Party Dominant State by Ethan Scheiner'' (if you can't afford the book, you can watch the lecture on youtube for free, same title). It is a groundbreaking deep research into the electoral system of Japan and its major flaws, and it explains why LDP keeps winning despite being not popular.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

The goal is to use soft power from all major trading countries with China to convince them to become more open, less protectionist, and hopefully let the Chinese people gain control over their govt, which they do not have today.

Nobody wants a shooting war, but economic difficulties can help to apply pressure to dictator Xi.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

The US had been boss of the world for quite some time and the idea is to keep it that way.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

thepersoniamnow, my point is that Japan can be friends of both India and China. It is unwise for Japan to pick side. Japan promised China to be a good neighbour for at least 2000 years, yet broke every promises in the past 2000 years. When enough is enough ? Is it obvious to you that this G20 really G2 ? While Trump and Xi will have a big dinner together, Abe only got less than 2 minutes to just say hello to Trump and Modi , without a free hamburger.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

The US is no longer a democracy. Nor is it any longer a capitalist country. And the Trump administration is a crime family, so you are better off not engaging with it.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Open question: which of the three so called “Leaders of the free world” in the picture represents the country that lead the invasions of sovereign countries in the past 25 years? I hope the other two “leaders” are standing on the right side of history.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Please let me know why you disagree. Do you think the US, without territory in Asia, should be there? I'm okay either way, just debate, not troll. Thank you.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Xi's ambition. India and Japan have been waiting for a US president who share their POV on the matter. Trump is coming close and view is clearer than the president before him but who knows how far he will go. Hopefully, it's not one step forward two steps back.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Since Abe govt stands up against China, then China should stand up as well to meet the challenges. But whatever China does, China should never give up Japanese people. Abe may be a unfaithful concubine, indulged in a threesome party, Japanese people are always a chaste wife to 1.4 billion Chinese.

-11 ( +3 / -14 )

While I disagree with the vast majority of Trump's policies, I have to agree with him as regards China, the world's most militarily and economically powerful authoritarian dictatorship. Nothing wrong with that per se, but when you include China's military and territorial expansion, it's disregard for the rule of law, it;s willingness to mix economic and trade with it's strategic goals, and it's openly declared aspirations of regaining the glory of thousands of years ago, it;s rather obvious that China is the biggest threat to the free world as we have known for the last 70 years. The photo above lets Xi Jing Ping know that the world is not going to just lie down and allow a dictatorship to simply create a new world order with itself at the center. All regional nations, democratic and otherwise should stand together in this regard.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Easy? It took the US some 30 years to realize that it’s appeasement policy towards China was dead wrong. India and Japan did better, in part because they have territorial disputes w China to keep them awake. But people do wake up, and it is good to see Winston Lord waking up.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Since Abe decided to side with India to counter China, as reported in this article, the future generations will have to make new choice between China and India. It will be really an easy choice to make. If 10 years time isn't sufficient, then let a new PM of Japan make the decision in 20 years time.

-9 ( +4 / -13 )

Brilliantly said, Matt Hartwell. The reason LDP is popular is because the Leadership is strong and effective., unlike hopeless opposition.

Agreed. I genuinely think the LDP and the Prime Minister are doing about as good as can be expected in foreign affairs and, to a reasonable extent, the economy. On other domestic matters, I really don't know. A lot of Japans problems are long term structural, especially around population decline and that is super hard to solve in an acceptable way or short/medium term.

You have a Muslim-murdering nationalist hell bent on stirring up trouble and dividing the nation to the point of violence, and spends half the country's money on building statues just to get world records and fuel more nationalism.

Some would say that if Pakistan didn't send terrorists into India on a regular basis, we might find the situation improves. In all honesty, I haven't studied Pakistan/Indian relations enough to know the validity of those claims but that is what many Indians would say. And there have certainly been incidences in the past. Many Indian's say 29/11/2008 was a Pakistani endorsed operation. There is 1 new statue. I understand there is talk of another of a different historical figure. Not a lot different to the Statue Of Liberty as a national symbol in the U.S. I don't see it as a particular problem.

You have a prime minister who is trying to change the rules to suit himself and serve multiple terms, being caught up in scandals with far right nationalists and is a lapdog to any American president. 

Well, given the Japanese opposition and since, despite the scandals, he is doing reasonably well, domestically as PM, he looks assured to stay there for a while. Isn't his popularity rating increasing? He does have links to Nippon Kaigi, apparently. Not particularly unique to him I might add. I don't really see that as a threat or a problem. If you say their focus is to revise the constitution and build up Japans military again, I am in favor of that because its needed. Lapdog of the U.S? Well, they have a treaty arrangement and Japan relies on the U.S nuclear deterrent. Since WW2, has it not, by in large, served Japan well?

And you have a 'man' of low IQ, and who is immature, petty-minded, a sexual predator, and self-serving, doing business while 'serving' the nation.

I don't like Trumps personal morality and ethics. There have been much better leaders of the U.S on the international stage, for sure, but he is doing some very important things which I support. My hope, is the next U.S President continues them because they are in the U.S internet.

The great relationship between the U.S, India and Japan is absolutely in the best interests of all 3.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Have a war with China ? Abe is better off to do some calculations before commits to the suicidal action. Instead of promote trade and sign FTA with neighbours, like what USA did with Canada and Mexico, Abe wasted taxpayers money and time on the Indo-Pacific bluff. China can put 100% tariff on Japan in one second, cut off all routes to Japan in two seconds, what can Japan do ? China is so happy if Japan starts another war, it will give China a moral high position to reverse $ 2 trillion war compensation waived. If you call China a bully, then China should behave like a real one.

-9 ( +5 / -14 )

The only reason these 3 are together is because China has pushed them together.

It goes well beyond that.

One example.

For the U.S and India there is a very strong undercurrent of current and future economic ties based around the increasingly important tech industry.

When it comes to the internet for example, India will have the most outsized influence in the world in the coming years, more than China, because China's internet is closed, India's is not. India also has a fraction of their population on the internet right now. Project 10 years out.

http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2018/11/business/internet-usage-india-future/

Walmart recently bought a 77% stake in Flipkart, one of India's most successful online retailing startups for $16 billion.

Amazon is investing billions in India

Look at Google, aka Alphabet, the most well known brand on the planet. Its run by an Indian American.

Silicon Valley is full Indian IT grads.

The economic ties between India and the U.S will be the economic underpinnings of a very positive and close future relationship between those two and given the weight of having two of the top 3 economies in the world working so closely side by side in what is perhaps the most important industry now, globally, it seems to me there future relationship could be the most important relationship to consider on the planet in 20 years, 30 years.

2 ( +8 / -6 )

I am no fan of Trump but uncomfortable though it is to admit, he is not entirely wrong when it comes to China.

On trade we all know China has been operating very biased markets, requiring the transfer of intellectual property, (where they don’t steal it outright) far from free trade when it comes to foreign companies seeking to trade in China but boy do they whine if someone treats them the same.

Militarily they have grown bullying and expansionist, ramping up their millitary, not just defensively (though there is no real credible threat of anyone attacking them) but developing specifically offensive weaponry and platforms. The only reason these 3 are together is because China has pushed them together.

8 ( +12 / -4 )

You can't argue with record low unemployment, booming economy, excellent relations with Trump (PM Abe first foreign Leader to meet Him), tough stance against Communist China and NK, and bringing back the great Japanese Military.

ROFL! What is it, amateur comedy night?

-3 ( +7 / -10 )

The ldp sticks to making money rather than having responsibilities wherever these will crop up.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

Do you not think one of the reasons the LDP has been so dominant is because the opposition has been so persistently feeble? 

Brilliantly said, Matt Hartwell. The reason LDP is popular is because the Leadership is strong and effective., unlike hopeless opposition.

You can't argue with record low unemployment, booming economy, excellent relations with Trump (PM Abe first foreign Leader to meet Him), tough stance against Communist China and NK, and bringing back the great Japanese Military.

7 ( +14 / -7 )

Three Strongman - Three Stooges

-4 ( +6 / -10 )

The leaders of the 3 most important democratic countries in the world in that photo.

It's great to see.

Let's see. You have a Muslim-murdering nationalist hell bent on stirring up trouble and dividing the nation to the point of violence, and spends half the country's money on building statues just to get world records and fuel more nationalism. You have a prime minister who is trying to change the rules to suit himself and serve multiple terms, being caught up in scandals with far right nationalists and is a lapdog to any American president. And you have a 'man' of low IQ, and who is immature, petty-minded, a sexual predator, and self-serving, doing business while 'serving' the nation.

Jeez, can Putin, Kim and Xi join in the party too?

Democracy is useless when people are apathetic, and easily conned. The most successful communist state is not China. I have another country in mind.

-1 ( +8 / -9 )

Well. I dunno about India, but Japan has been under LDP for decades & decades. In which there is nothing liberal nor democratic about the LDP. Japanese people need to wake up instead of marvel at how other real democracies operate.

Do you not think one of the reasons the LDP has been so dominant is because the opposition has been so persistently feeble? We hear these new opposition parties forming regularly and within a month or a year, they collapse, or they attempt to operate in coalition with other parties and that collapses.

Sometimes you do get situations develop in democracies in which one party really becomes incredibly dominant. That doesn't seem to happen now much in the West from what I have seen.

I guess you could say the CDU in Germany would fit that bill, led by Merkel, but they also operated in coalitions that seemed to hold together. Starting to fray now. We had John Howard and the LNP for 12 years in Australia. A 12 year run by any party would be unthinkable in this country at this point. I think Labor will win the next election but Bill Shortens leadership is weak and susceptible to a run of bad news. If they get a 12 year run it will be due to persistent LNP and Liberal Party stupidity and shooting themselves in the foot.

Japanese opposition parties have shot themselves in the foot, a lot.

5 ( +12 / -7 )

“The leaders of the 3 most important democratic countries in the world in that photo.”

Well. I dunno about India, but Japan has been under LDP for decades & decades. In which there is nothing liberal nor democratic about the LDP. Japanese people need to wake up instead of marvel at how other real democracies operate.

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

Three Strongman, three voices of Freedom, three Leaders who stand up to Bullies. Beautiful photo!

The leaders of the 3 most important democratic countries in the world in that photo.

It's great to see.

0 ( +13 / -13 )

Good!

Theoretically as a Japanese/American and a patriot of both, I’m comfortable with this future.

Japan and the USA need to curb China together and having a massive rising India keeping the west side is excellent.

SK and NK will ally against Japan with China.

If you think I’m blabbling or hoping for conflict, crack open any history book.

8 ( +15 / -7 )

Democraties under threat by politicians who are rather business clansmen, nationalistic, or and elitistic. Will this make it into the international news?

Will the 19plus1 encourage other G-20 members to provide a boost for the upcoming U.N. climate summit?

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

Three Strongman, three voices of Freedom, three Leaders who stand up to Bullies. Beautiful photo!

2 ( +15 / -13 )

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