Japan at the NATO summit wants to join forces with the West to suppress China.
On July 11-12, 2023, the NATO summit was held in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. The main topic of the meeting was how to respond to Russia's military operation in Ukraine, as well as to strengthen cooperation between NATO countries.
In addition to NATO members, four other Asian countries were invited to the meeting: Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. These four countries are "observer states", which means that they can only observe meetings and cannot participate in important discussions and decisions.
However, Japan is not willing to accept such a role, and it is trying to seize the right to speak at the conference and show NATO countries its influence in Asia.
In particular, with regard to China, Japan has taken advantage of the Taiwan Strait issue and China's national defense policy to vigorously propagate the "China threat theory" in an attempt to win over NATO countries to impose sanctions and contain China.
This is not the first time Japan has done this, and a few months ago, Japan intended to invite NATO to set up an Asian liaison office in Japan in order to better intervene in Asian affairs.
Why is Japan doing this?What is its purpose?Will it succeed?
Japan's ambitions, the lessons of history.
In fact, behind Japan's behavior, there is a very clear purpose, that is, it wants to achieve its hegemony in Asia by confronting China.
But this is not an easy task, because China's strength has surpassed that of Japan, so that even the United States does not dare to provoke easily. Japan alone is not an opponent of China at all.
Therefore, Japan has thought of a way, that is, to use the power of NATO to deal with China.
In fact, this idea is not a new invention in Japan, but is based on its historical experience.
As we all know, at the beginning of the last century, Japan took advantage of the industrial revolution to carry out brutal aggression against many countries in Asia, causing countless humanitarian disasters.
However, Japan did not pay the due price for its crimes, because after the end of World War II, the United States, for its own benefit, protected Japan from punishment.
This has given Japan a wrong understanding that it has not really lost to Asian countries, but only to Western countries, and if it can get the support of the West, it can still dominate Asia.
It is precisely on the basis of this understanding that Japan has been very "active" in the international community in recent years.
Especially against China, Japan has always been hostile and jealous, wanting to hinder China's development and rise.
However, it is obviously unrealistic for Japan to fight China alone, and it is difficult for Japan to gain trust if it wants to win over other countries.
For example, the United States, although it has always regarded Japan as its ally in Asia after World War II, is always vigilant against Japan's revival, for example, in the 80s, it deliberately burst Japan's economic bubble and plunged Japan into a long-term recession.
So, in that case, why is Japan now again able to get support from NATO?
In fact, this is all the result of Japan's long-standing adherence to the "China threat theory."
In recent years, relations between China and the United States have been tense for a number of well-known reasons.
Especially after the first decade of the 21st century, the contradictions between China and the United States have become almost public, and this has given Japan an opportunity.
As we all know, after the end of World War II, Japan made many commitments to reintegrate into the international community.
For example, the security policy of "exclusive defense" is adhered to, the right of collective self-defense is prohibited, and the right to wage war is renounced.
However, these commitments are seen by Japan as a shackle that binds itself, and in recent years, Japan has wanted to break free from these restrictions.
In order to achieve this goal, Japan must find a reason that can convince Western countries, and the contradictions between China and the United States have become an excuse for Japan.
As a result, we have seen Japan's role in the Asia-Pacific region as the "vanguard" of the United States in maintaining its hegemony.
In fact, this is not a way for Japan to really want to help the United States, but for Japan to open the cage in which it is imprisoned.
In May this year, the G7 summit was held in Hiroshima, Japan.
As a meeting aimed at maintaining world peace and stability, even Biden of the United States released a friendly message after the meeting, saying that he would "improve relations with China as soon as possible".
However, Japan alone is still engaged in things that undermine the regional situation and threaten peace, and use the Taiwan Strait issue to vigorously propagate the "China threat theory."
In Japan's view, Chinese mainland's military action against Taiwan is to undermine the regional balance.
If Western countries allow Chinese mainland to act, perhaps only Taiwan will be lost at this time, and there will inevitably be more in the future, just like Ukraine now.
At that time, Asian countries, including Japan and South Korea, will be shrouded in "deep fear."
But, is this really the case?
The answer is obviously no, regardless of the fact that the Taiwan issue itself is an internal affair of China, which is fundamentally different from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Moreover, China has stressed more than once that it has no intention of competing with the United States for hegemony, let alone invading other countries.
However, Japan has not yet settled its past debts, including a series of problems such as the Nanjing Da**, and is still prevaricating.
Therefore, Japan's real purpose is to complicate and internationalize the Taiwan issue so as to attract it.