At the request of the United States, Japan decided to withdraw the Patriot anti-aircraft missiles deployed in its own country, causing concern in the West about the "Chinese threat". Western military observers believe that this decision will sharply weaken the air defense of the US military and its allies in the East Asian region, especially in a possible war in the Taiwan Strait, and will face a serious disadvantage.
The Patriot missiles, which were forwarded to the United States by Japan, will actually end up in Ukraine. Two years into Russia's war in Ukraine, the United States has all but emptied its stockpile of Patriot missiles on its home side and its European allies. To that end, Biden** has made three requests to Japan in the past few months to buy back these missiles.
Although Japan's constitution prohibits exports to war zones**, the Japanese cabinet decided to send the missiles to the United States, which will be responsible for transshipment to the war zone in Ukraine. Although the world knows that the United States is not capable of dealing with two battlefields at the same time, even the war between Russia and Ukraine seems to be fragmented. However, Western military analysts are perplexed by Biden's decision to **transport** from the "Indo-Pacific theater" to the European theater.
According to a recent report published by Japan**, the country's existing air defense forces can only cover about 60% of the country's territory. Most military experts believe that Japan is powerless to defend itself if it is attacked now. In this case, the diversion of anti-aircraft missiles is very dangerous for Japan. Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Colby Elbridge Colby bluntly said that Japan's withdrawal of Patriot missiles was "a big mistake in cooperating with the United States."
Although Western analysts oppose this decision, it at least shows that the United States believes that a war in the Taiwan Strait is unlikely at the moment, and the need for Patriot missiles in Europe is more important than Japan's at the moment. However, because the dispatch was based on the emergency of U.S. inventory, the U.S. had to make this request to Japan. Therefore, whether it is in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, or the East China Sea, the United States actually feels helpless.
The U.S. decision to withdraw Patriot missiles means that it may take a low-key approach in the Western Pacific, and although its ass has been exposed, the U.S. may respond to the complex geopolitical situation in a different way in the coming period.