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Posted on 11/27/2013 10:32:34 PM PST by cunning_fish
On November 2, Russia and Japan held their first-ever “two plus two” meeting, which brought together their respective foreign and defense ministers in Tokyo to discuss security cooperation. The meeting grabbed few headlines, but was far from routine: such gatherings are typically reserved for close allies, and for most of their modern history, Moscow and Tokyo have been anything but.
Now, however, the two countries find themselves linked by a shared predicament in the Asia-Pacific. Both are secondary players in a region overshadowed by an increasingly assertive China, which has not hesitated to push against the boundaries of its neighbors. New ties between Russia and Japan would mark not only a breakthrough in their relations but also a significant shift in Northeast Asia’s political dynamic. Since the 1950s, U.S. alliances with Japan and South Korea have dominated regional security. Russia and China thawed their frosty relationship in the 1990s and signed a friendship treaty in 2001, but China’s rise has increased tensions in every regional relationship.
To be sure, Russia and Japan are not natural security partners. In the twentieth century, they fought two wars against each other, first in 1904–05, and again in 1945. Japan seized territory from Russia in the first; Russia seized territory from Japan in the second. In the following decades, the two countries largely kept their diplomatic distance, though trade between them blossomed in the 2000s.
Yet there have been many small, albeit largely unsuccessful, attempts to improve bilateral relations over the past 20 years. These took the form of efforts to resolve a territorial dispute
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignaffairs.com ...
America has left the building.
a whale of a tale and i love the smell of fish oil in the mourning
If the pres were not now world famous for abandoning people this NEVERnwould have happened. For G-d’s sake Russia still occupies Japanese territory...!
This is like the guys at the Alamo doing maneuvers with Santa Ana.
THE FAULT OF ONE SINGLE MAN.
PS - there will soon be an arms race in Asia.
IMO, Red China is a bigger threat for Japan’s security.
It worth to forget something and team up with Russia, India and Vietnam who are natural opponents and potential foes of China right now.
With all the free trade crap and debt neither US administration will ever opt for Japan against China.
Agree 100%.
This odd meeting shows the depth of the Japanese distrust of the current arrangements under Obama.
That would be something if Russia,Japan and Vietnam had a little roll with China and the Indians took advantage of it to seize land that China is illegally occupying.
Nature abhors a vacuum. President O-vacuum is a hoover extraordinaire.
Thats why we have Caroline Kennedy as America’s plenipotentiary in Japan.
We are losing Japan as an ally and I cannot say as I blame them in the least.
A war like that inevitable in a future. All of the above are actually future Allies. The question will be US a part of Axis or not.
Putin’s Russia is playing “the Great Game” finding allies to help curb China’s growing Imperialism. All Russia and Japan needs is another few allies—maybe India? It is comforting to know that even if the USA is out of the picture—the game continues. war is Asia is coming folks—its not if—only When and who side will we be on?
Thanks to our unelected officials we have taken a back seat and are working diligently toward third worldism
What’s a million Chinese in a war. They got their butts kicked in 79’ by the N. Vietnamese. The Phillipines would love us back.
And Putin is striding purposefully on the world stage. He is meeting with everybody. Those ignorant of history should note that there has never been a Russian leader who has met with so many foreign leaders as this man.
Interesting times we live in, something is afoot.
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