July 7, 2015

Countering China’s Gradual Creation of a Fait Accompli in the South China Sea:
Providing Civilian Air Patrol Capability by Utilizing the U.S.-Japan Alliance

Hiroshi Waguri

Increased tensions over China’s maritime sovereignty claims in the Western Pacific pose a challenge for the international system. A confrontation between China and Japan in the East China Sea continues mainly between Japan’s national coast guard ships and China’s government and civilian fishery vessels, but it seems to have reached a kind of moderate stalemate as the two governments have resumed working-level talks aimed at establishing a maritime communication mechanism between Japan and China. While the situation bears watching, U.S. statements reiterating that Article V of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, which obligates the United States to defend Japan, applies to the Senkaku islands, as well as the continuous presence of Japan’s coast guard and Maritime Self-Defense Forces around the islands, must have played a major role in achieving the current relative stability. Continue reading CSIS: Countering China’s Gradual Creation of a Fait Accompli in the South China Sea →