“Japan and China plan to hold in bilateral security talks in Tokyo as early as April — the first in four years between their foreign and defense ministries, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.”
“In order to win, Japan should give China a dose of its own medicine,” some argue, but could that lead to an arms race, increase distrust, exacerbate tensions in the region, and solve nothing in the end?
“Russia will always find an adequate response to any pressure coming from the outside, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a gala-show ahead of the upcoming Defender of the Fatherland Day, which honors those who served in the armed forces.”
“The confusion Tony Abbott has injected into the future submarine issue is undermining Japan’s efforts to sell a more assertive new security policy to the region.”
“Japan’s new Development Cooperation Charter will allow for non-combat military aid and prioritize Southeast Asia.”
“The Chinese defense ministry said on Thursday that China and Japan have agreed to launch a maritime and aerial crisis management mechanism at an early date.”
In response to a comment to Reuters made by senior U.S. Navy officer Admiral Robert Thomas, commander of the Seventh Fleet and the top U.S. navy officer in Asia, that “the United States would welcome operations conducted by the Japanese Self-Defense…