US-Japan Alliance Confronts the Anti-Access and Area Denial Challenge: Toward Building Capacity, Cooperation and Information Sharing in the Western Pacific

Tensions between Japan and China in the East China Sea have increased significantly over the past decade. Disputes between the two countries over the Senkaku/Daioyu islands that were left unresolved when the two countries normalized relations in 1972, along with overlapping claims to exclusive economic and more recently air defense identification zones have brought the two countries to the edge of conflict. With the coast guard, air and naval forces of both countries now patrolling the disputed areas in close proximity to each other, the possibility for escalation should an incident occur has never been higher. It is the position of this author that both parties to the disputed territory should attempt to resolve their differences by negotiating a compromise settlement. In the meantime it is imperative that military to military hotlines are developed between the countries in order to prevent escalation should an incident occur. The recent high level talks in Qingdao represent a step in the right direction and a potential summit level meeting could help to cool tensions and restore focus on developing the bilateral economic relationship that is vital to both countries. The focus of this brief paper, however, will be to discuss the manner in which Japan and the United States can work together to maintain the effectiveness of the alliance in the face of the growing capabilities of Chinese military forces, especially in terms of what has been described as Chinas anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) strategy. Maintenance of alliance effectiveness in this sense does not pertain to only the U.S. ability to support Japan in the event of a contingency related to the Senkaku islands or the East China Sea, although that is obviously at the top of Japans list of security concerns at this moment.