Japan and America's Buck-passing strategy to contain China

Document Type : Original

Authors

Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

This article examines the US's devolution strategy in the face of China's growing power and Japan's key role in this regard. Japan's security concerns regarding China's intentions, especially in the field of territorial disputes, have made this country play a more security role and cooperate more closely with the United States. In recent years, the distribution of power in the Pacific has experienced significant changes that have forced the United States to reconsider its policies. Considering the security threats from China, the US and Japan have strengthened their military and security cooperation to maintain the balance of power in the region. This article examines the question of how Japan has played a role in the US offshore balance strategy and how to form a coalition to contain China. The findings of the article have shown that due to the increase of unilateral costs in neutralizing China, the United States, relying on the strategy of Buck pass in economic and military dimensions through bilateral or multilateral agreements, economic and military-security alliances with Japan, has been trying to create a collective balance in order to restrain China. These collaborations include updating mutual defense guidelines and developing joint military capabilities. This article explains the position of Japan in the offshore balancing strategy of the United States of America to contain China with a descriptive-analytical method and based on library sources. 

Keywords

Main Subjects


حوزة موضوعی: ایالات متحدة آمریکا، چین، ژاپن

Scope: China, Japan, USA

Admi A, Dashtgerd M. (2011). “The United States and the containment of belligerents in the context of devolution”. Political Strategic Studies. 1(3): 1-28. [in Persian]
Banerjee M. (2022). “China’s response to Indo-Pacific Economic Framewor”. Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
Buchan PG, Rimland B. (2020). “Defining the diamond: the past, present, and future of the quadrilateral security dialogue”. CSIS Institute. https://www.csis.org/analysis/defining-diamond-past-present-and-future-quadrilateral-security-dialogue. (Assessed on 13/10/2024)
Carney S. (2024). “The Quad eyeing Indo-Pacific security– GIS Reports”. GIS Reports. https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/quad-indo-pacific-security/. (Assessed on 20/10/2024)
Centre for Geopolitics. (2024). Indo-Pacific Strand. https://www.cfg.polis.cam.ac.uk/research/indo-pacific/. (Assessed on 02/09/2024)
Christensen ThJ, Snyder J. (2009), “Chain gangs and passed bucks: predicting alliance patterns in multipolarity”, International Organization. 44(2): 137-168.
Congressional Research Service. (2021). “The U.S.-China trade relationship: An overview”. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10199. (Assessed on 10/10/2024)
Doshi R. (2023). The Long Game: China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order. Translated by Ansari M. Tehran: Tehran Internatinal Studies and Research Institute. [in Persian]
Envall H. (2023). “15 Japan’s American Alliance: Forgoing Autonomy for Deterrence”. In Amsterdam University Press eBooks: 261-275. doi:  https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048559381-019. (Assessed on 15/09/2024)
Goodman MP. (2024). “Japan braces for Trump 2.0”. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/article/japan-braces-trump-20. (Assessed on 15/10/2024)
Han-koo Y, Wolff M. (2024). "Will 2024 deepen Indo-Pacific economic cooperation?”. PIIE. https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2024/will-2024-deepen-indo-pacific-economic-cooperation. (Assessed on 09/10/2024)
Hughes CW. (2016). “Japan’s ‘Resentful realism’ and balancing China’s rise”. The Chinese Journal of International Politics. 9(2): 109-150. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/cjip/pow004.
Ipdefenseforum. (2024). “Japan, South Korea, U.S. move to formalize trilateral partnership”. Indo-Pacific Defense Forum. https://ipdefenseforum.com/2024/10/japan-south-korea-u-s-move-to-formalize-trilateral-partnership/. (Assessed on 17/10/2024)
Ishimoto R. (2024). “Strengthening Japan-US security relations over extended deterrence”. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/strengthening-japan-us-security-relations-over-extended-deterrence/. (Assessed on 04/10/2024)
Karimi GhR, Haddad Zand Sh, Ahmadpour M. (2022). “India's role in America's strategy of buck passing for China's containment”. World Politics. 11(4): 139-169. [in Persian]
Koga K. (2016). “The rise of China and Japan’s balancing strategy: critical junctures and policy shifts in the 2010s”. Journal of Contemporary China. 25(101): 777-791. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2016.1160520.
Koga K, Oba M, Jimbo K, Cooper Z. (2019). “U.S.-Japan cooperation on Indo-Pacific Regional architecture”. Asia Strategy Initiative. https://www.spf.org/jpus-insights/spf-asia-initiative-en/spf-asia-initiative003.html. (Assessed on 12/10/2024)
Lee RM. (2024). “An insurance plan for peace: trilateral security pact between South Korea, US, and Japan”. Stimson Center. https://www.stimson.org/2024/an-insurance-plan-for-peace-trilateral-security-pact-between-south-korea-us-and-japan/. (Assessed on 07/10/2024)
Lim Ch. (2024). “Explore Pacific Forum’s insightful Indo-Pacific analysis”. Pacific Forum. https://pacforum.org/publications/yl-blog-72-as-us-china-tensions-intensify-is-japan-a-third-way-for-southeast-asia/. (Assessed on 07/10/2024)
Liu W, Wang B. (2013). “The roles of the United States in the China–US–Japan trilateral relations”. Journal of Global Policy and Governance. 2(2): 167-180. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40320-013-0041-4.
Mazarr MJ, Ke I. (2024). Integrated Deterrence as a defense planning concept. RAND. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA2263-1.html. (Assessed on 14/10/2024)
Mearsheimer JJ. (2001). The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Milly M. (2023). “Japan key in handling any Indo-Pacific contingency: top U.S. general”. Nikkei Asia. https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/Japan-key-in-handling-any-Indo-Pacific-contingency-top-U.S.-general. (Assessed on 03/10/2024)
National Defense University Press. (2020). “The Indo-Pacific competitive space: China’s vision and the Post–World War II American Order”. https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/2404551/9-the-indo-pacific-competitive-space-chinas-vision-and-the-postworld-war-ii-ame/. (Assessed on 13/10/2024)
Quimba FMA, Barral MAA. (2023). “Exploring regional integration with Indo-Pacific economies: A background analysis for IPEF strategies”. PIDS Discussion Paper Series, No. 2024-37. Philippine Institute for Development Studies. Quezon City.
Sahashi R. (2020). “Japan’s strategy amid US–China confrontation”. China International Strategy Review. 2(2): 232-245. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42533-020-00061-9.
Smith SA. (2023). “The quad in the Indo-Pacific: What to know”. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/quad-indo-pacific-what-know. (Assessed on 14/10/2024)
Statista. (2024a). “U.S. annual FDI to Japan 2000-2023”. https://www.statista.com/statistics/188623/united-states-direct-investments-in-japan-since-2000/. (Assessed on 09/10/2024)
=============. (2024b). U.S. annual FDI receipts from Japan 2000-2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/188907/foreign-direct-investment-from-japan-in-the-united-states-since-1990/. (Assessed on 10/10/2024)
StatisticsTimes. (2024). “Comparing United States and China by economy”. https://statisticstimes.com/economy/united-states-vs-china-economy.php. (Assessed on 15/10/2024)
Snyder G. (2002). “Mearsheimer’s world— offensive realism and the struggle for security”. International Security. 27(1): 149-173.
United States Trade Representative. (2024). Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/agreements-under-negotiation/indo-pacific-economic-framework-prosperity-ipef. (Assessed on 05/10/2024)
The White House. (2022a). “Indo-Pacific strategy of The United States”. Washington DC: Executive Office of The President National Security Council: 4-18. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/U.S.-Indo-Pacific-Strategy.pdf. Assessed on. (Assessed on 11/10/2024)
---------------. (2022b). “Japan-U.S. Joint leaders’ statement: Strengthening the free and open international Order”. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/23/japan-u-s-joint-leaders-statement-strengthening-the-free-and-open-international-order/. (Assessed on ????)
--------------. (2022c). “National security strategy of the United States of America”. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Biden-Harris-Administrations-National-Security-Strategy-10.2022.pdf.  (Assessed on 10/10/2024)
United States Department of State. (2022). “Treaty of Peace with Japan, done at San Francisco September 8, 1951”. https://www.state.gov/treaty-of-peace-with-japan-san-francisco. (Assessed on 14/10/2024)
U.S. Department of Defense. (2024). Joint Statement of the Security Consultative Committee (2+2). https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3852169/joint-statement-of-the-security-consultative-committee-22/. (Assessed on 12/10/2024)
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. (2024). Japan Trade Agreement. https://fas.usda.gov/topics/japan-trade-agreement. (Assessed on 09/10/2024)
Vidal LLI, Pelegrín À. (2017). “Hedging against China: Japanese strategy towards a rising power”. Asian Security. 14(2): 193-211. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2017.1333983. (Assessed on 08/10/2024)
Walt SM. (1987). The origins of Alliances, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.