Boosting Japan’s Cybersecurity

Tensions between Japan and China are mounting following the Noda government’s decision to buy and nationalize the Senkaku Islands, and the repercussions have spilled over into cyberspace. Japan must urgently address its cybersecurity vulnerabilities and prepare for cyberthreats. Vandalism in cyberspace quickly followed the Japanese government‘s announcement. China’s largest “hacktivist” group, the Honker Union of […]

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Japan’s Three Options in the East China Sea

  Tensions between Japan and China over the Senkaku (Diaoyu) islands are continuing, as indicated by continued obstacles to Japanese businesses in China, a drastic decline in tourism, and Chinese patrols near the islands.   This is both a Sino-Japanese issue and a part of a broader confrontation between China on one side and the United […]

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Tokyo’s Missing Muscle

Recent rhetoric concerning the East China Sea and the Senkaku Islands, which the Chinese call the Diaoyu Islands, makes it appear that the Japanese government is taking a tougher approach on foreign policy and military affairs. Its decision to purchase the disputed islands in September triggered outrage from China and spawned observations that Japan is […]

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China Wields Economic Club

SINGAPORE — The bitter dispute between China and Japan over their rival claims to ownership of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea has severely strained bilateral political relations. Mishandling or mistakes by either side could trigger a clash between their paramilitary ships, drawing in regular forces and leading to a wider war. As […]

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China Auto Buyers Shun Japanese Cars In Islands Tiff

Further evidence that the fight over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea is having an impact on the global economy: Auto sales in China fell in September for the first time in eight months, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced on Wednesday. That’s largely because Chinese consumers are staying away from Japanese brands. The overall […]

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The Asian Cold War

The roiling dispute over a remote set of rocks in the East China Sea, known to the Japanese as the Senkaku Islands and to the Chinese as the Diaoyus, is more than a mere diplomatic spat between two of the world’s largest economies. It has stripped away the thin veneer of cooperation between the two […]

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China: What Kind of Superpower?

As nationalist war-mongering goes, the anti-Japanese demonstrations taking place across China have been relatively tame. Chinese authorities have maintained tight control over the protesters, some of whom call for an armed response against Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea: Plastic bottle-throwing is allowed, glass bottle-throwing discouraged. For all the jingoistic talk, the […]

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How The China-Japan Island Dispute Can Impact India

China has raised the politico-diplomatic ante with Japan over the disputed islands in the East China Seain a definitive manner through a formal Cabinet-equivalent announcement in Beijing and the follow-up of this assertion at the foreign minister level in New York on Tuesday (September 25). Territorial disputes with certain key Asian countries is a high-octane issue […]

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Asia Can Afford To Worry (A Little) Less About Economic Reprisals From China

China appears ever more willing to use its economic muscle to strategic ends. Japan is the most recent target, as tensions flare over a maritime territorial dispute. Customs processing has been delayed for some Japanese goods, and visas are somewhat less forthcoming. There are concerns about consumer boycotts, especially of Japanese cars. It’s reasonable to […]

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India Defends Its Backyard In The Indian Ocean

The whole world is watching China‘s confrontations in the South China Sea and the East China Sea—but India is watching with particular concern. India has no territorial claims here per se, but one Indian official recently said that the South China Sea could be seen “as the antechamber of the Indian Ocean,” given the flow […]

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