CHINA’S NAVAL POWER AND JAPAN

CROUCHING DRAGON, RISING SUN

Yong Kwon

Asia Times, September 7, 2011

Beijing has finally achieved its aspiration to be a force to be reckoned with on the high seas. The long-awaited launch of China's aircraft carrier signaled the incremental readjustment of power relations in East Asia. However, the rise of one power does not necessarily translate to the decline of all others in the vicinity. The rise of China as a naval power will inevitably highlight the indispensability of Japan and prompt Tokyo's ascent to a position of greater political and military importance in Northeast Asia.

Recently, Professor Robert Farley drew parallels between military conditions today and those in the 1920s when Japan and the United States challenged the naval supremacy of Great Britain. [1] Noting the economic burden of an arms race, he lauded the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty and recommended a new treaty between India, China and Japan to limit the size of their fleets.

However, Beijing has yet to show any signs of budgetary or economic difficulties in providing for massive naval buildup. Furthermore, considering how internal opposition to naval arms control in Japan in the 1920s ultimately caused Tokyo to withdraw from the treaty in 1934, there is no reason to believe Beijing would abide by, much less initiate, control measures on its own longtime military objectives.

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