United States, Japan and Korea Security Alliance From 1994 to Present

UNITED STATES, JAPAN - KOREA SECURITY ALLIANCE
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Abstract
The United States, Japan and Korea have had some security alliances that have spun across several decades. The alliances are mainly focused to the protection of the territorial integrity of the concerned countries. The US-Japan alliance for instance initially focused on the Japan`s territorial defense and then later on merged with the broader US global strategy. The US-Japan alliance is key to helping us understand the external challenges that lie ahead in terms of managing the crucial partnership. The United States- Japan alliance also provides for an excellent and up-to-date effort to think through the relationship between the US and Japan. With the political change in Japan taking shape, there have been fiscal pressures on Washington and Tokyo and there are also some new challenges from China and North Korea that are affecting the state of the two countries. The durability of the US-Japan alliance lies in the capacity of the alliance to constantly redefine itself to adapt to the ever changing security equation in Asia and beyond. This paper examines the causes and the effects of various international events and policies that have taken place in the three countries since the inception of the alliance to date.
United States, Japan and Korea Security Alliance From 1994 to Present
Introduction
The US Japan alliance is based on the 1951 bilateral treaty and is considered one of Washington`s main military partnerships. The arrangement was formulated as a product of the Cold War`s bipolarity. This arrangement served a purpose to prevent the communist threat and expansion. However, there were some structural changes in East Asia in 1989 that necessitated the restructuring of the agreement (Elena, 2005). The bilateral agreement was then redefined in the mid 1990s to include both the regional and global dimensions. The US-Japan security ties saw a period of unprecedented deepening during the term of former Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro (2001-2006), with Tokyo becoming an even stronger supporter of the American-led regional security order. Beijing, however, saw the consolidation of the alliance as directed at China and hence seeking to constrain its rising power in East Asia, notably by having impact on the Taiwan issue. The deterioration in Sino-Japanese ties under Koizumi reinforced the security dilemma between the bilateral alliance and the PRC, as well as Beijing`s perception of Tokyo as a major tool in Washington`s strategy of maintaining its primacy in East Asia (Hughes, 2005). However, several new trends have emerged in the relations between Japan, China and the US in the post-Koizumi era and since Barack Obama became US President in 2009 (Ikenberry, 2004). These include stabilization in Sino-Japanese ties, Tokyo`s pro-Asia diplomacy under Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio (2009-present), and America`s inc...