If you allow, I want to make this into an opinion piece. (Guess I can not help it.) In particular, responding to the last paragraph in the reading guide and the book. I think the American strategy in Asia has been rather shallow-minded. The book says as much, something needs to change.¹ I agree, not even just with South Korea, but seeing everything through a pro-China and anti-China lens is a constricting worldview. The People’s Republic of China is not like the USSR of old. It should not be treated the same way. In many ways the Chinese are much more intelligent and subtle than the Russians could ever be. To a degree, I have a lot of loyalty to whoever has inherited the Chinese heartland. Anybody who cares about Asia even a little should recognize China’s central role. That being said, the Chinese system as it currently exists is ruthless. China to an extent has always been like that, but the government of China is able to extract a degree of control that was not possible in the past. The good news is I do not think a fight with China is even necessary. To make a long discussion short: a country built on sandcastles can only be swept back into the sea. The Chinese did America a great service by systematically decimating their new generation through their one-child policy. You combine the artificialness of their economy and their demographics, China is not nearly as imposing as is often made out to be.

That said, the Chinese are not dumb. On the contrary, they are probably the most intelligent people in possession of a great empire. Intelligence is not everything, but it should not be discounted. The Cold-War strategy more-or-less worked rather well in Asia. For the cards that were given, I believe the American leadership of the time did a decent job. But that was then, and this is now. What I am about to say is rather upsetting to many. If anything, by talking to many Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese (those from Taiwan), I believe it is rather them who are more “anti-China” than me.² Even if they do not like the CCP, which I do not particularly either, they should honor that they are the heirs to China. If Asians give up that, then they are throwing away something core to their being. It is not just Americans who are invested in this.

First off, China’s role in Asia should be recognized. Second, Taiwan should be handed back to China. Third, America’s strategy in Asia should be more concentrated instead of trying to trying to build up some kind of hegemony in an entirely different continent with cultures vastly unlike our own. That does not mean abandoning Asia. In practice, concentrating on Japan and Philippines. Fourth, India should not try to be courted as an “ally,” but they are not an enemy. Fifth, stop trying to appeal to Asians either on the basis of loyalty or shared values. That is simply not how they think. Sixth, recognizing the cultural differences. Europe is more-or-less in a decent position and does not require the degree of attention which it did in the past. The bulk of America’s attention in foreign policy, I believe, should be concentrated in the Middle East and the Americas. The Middle East, and in particular Arabs, have been quietly transforming themselves. America should work from the shadows and not be loud about it, but watching over Arabs seize power and breaking down at least the Persian networks if not the Persian nation. As well as disarming reactionary political Sunni Islam (Islamism, as is often called). Turkey has been playing and will hopefully continue to play a massive role. Europeans have grown fat and old, but having Turkey in NATO alone probably makes maintaining the military alliance worth it. In the Americas too, great change is occurring.

Maduro has been toppled. Venezuela helped prop up Cuba and Nicaragua. Mexicans have largely accepted liberalism. The political fabrics of Bolivia and Argentina are being changed before our eyes. But, above all, Brazil. It is way past time that America begins working on this nut. Brazil is like the sister-nation of America. Culturally we are eerily similar and generally face the same problems. Brazilians are actually very much aware of the United States and on the whole look upon it rather favorably. Brazil is a massive country with a massive population. It has the potential to become another Western superpower. It should not be forgotten, religiously, politically, culturally, Brazil and Latin America on the whole are Western. South America should not be treated like a completely foreign region/culture. To bring about another superpower that is seeped in the Western tradition would largely be positive not only for America but Western civilization. Though, this is not something that will/can happen overnight. But, the general idea should be kept in the back of the mind of American strategists. Lula is honestly more of a moderate than he is sometimes made out to be, at least the way he is now. But, he is old and is likely only going to run for president one more time. After that, PT or whatever party that comes after them is likely going to be greatly weakened without his presence. The defeat of Dilma I believe to be proof of this. There is tremendous potential, if only Americans understood.

Now, I know, off-topic is going to be written. But, South Korea’s destiny is tied to China and America. There is no way of getting around it. The foreign policy that America pursues will have an influence on the direction which South Korea takes. Korea’s history, as we saw, has been tethered to China for hundreds of years. The difference was that for a brief period of time foreign powers were able to challenge it. It is only natural that China would go back to such a position. The Japanese empire ultimately failed at preventing it, if it was even possible in the first place, so we have to figure out a way to live with it. Koreans and Japanese, despite their similarities, could really not be more different. The Japanese saw that they were defeated and their political class moved quite skillfully to make most of their situation. I do not think most Americans quite realize to the extent that Japan was vital for the war. I also do not think they realize that it was due to the invasion of the South that the directive for the formation of what would become the 自衛隊 was given. It was largely because of the Korean War that the San Francisco Treaty was signed and the Japanese-American security alliance was created. The Korean War involved thousands of Japanese specialists that enabled American troop presence in Korea. It was out of this cooperation largely that former enemies began to learn how to cooperate and realize that the relationship could be mutually beneficial.

Japan developed that relationship with America because Japanese elites thought they had no better option. That is at the core of those in Japan who believe this security arrangement should be the backbone of Japanese defense.³ The Communist invasion of the South exposed the leftists for what they were and the broader Japanese public came to realize that they were rather good for nothing. This was the tipping point that has allowed such a degree of LDP dominance. The leftist platform is incoherent. Most Japanese understand that China and Korea is not to be trusted, so the idea of being completely defenseless before them is not very palatable to them. Thus, parties who have advocated for such things have largely been unsuccessful. Some people think this is because Japanese became pro-American or believed into the ideology. Really, I do not think that is what happened at all. It is for this reason as well that the Japanese-US relationship is much more durable.

Korea is a continental force. Japan is an archipelago. Koreans prided themselves on being more Chinese than the Chinese. Chinese customs never quite fit Japan quite right, thus they largely developed their own traditions. This difference is not slight. Japanese see themselves as an independent civilization. Koreans see themselves as perpetual victims. Japanese are also much more adaptable and fluid than Koreans are. The Japanese never developed a German level of self-hatred. I am not convinced that the actions of Japan were any better or worse than the Chinese. The whole Korean argument seems to hinge just on themselves instead of seeing the larger context. I can understand where Koreans and Chinese are coming from, but that still leaves me unconvinced that Japanese actions are even a problem. To my estimation, the Japanese actually seem more patient than I would have been if I was placed in the same position. One of the chapters in the book about identity discussed the idea that Japanese are much less concerned about ethnicity and nationality than Korea.⁴ This might be surprising to those who have never interacted with the Japanese, but once you talk with them even a little you begin to realize that. They identify strongly as Japanese, but that does not necessarily entangle a strong identification with outwardly structures or cultural ideas.

The Philippines, I believe, is important because they are an archipelago as well. They definitely have a different relationship with the United States, but I do not think it is any less strong. Language, political structure, history, culture, etc. are all things that are shared. The Philippines is probably out of all countries in Asia the most similar to the US. Maybe it is not a surprise given that it was a colony for decades. There is a common distrust of China. Basing American strategy out of these two countries would be ideal because one is for East Asia and one is for the South China Sea. In both cases, they are not easily reached by China. They both have distinct cultures from China. While the fear with Japan is more the Pacifist wing attaining power. With the Philippines it is more that the country is not developing as fast as it should be and attention is mostly concentrated elsewhere. I think it should be front-and-center. Something like a NATO arrangement I think should be arranged between the US, Japan, and Philippines. If other Southeast Asian countries would like to join too it should be arranged. If not, those three are enough by themselves. Importantly, I think South Korea and Taiwan should be left out. This should also not involve South Asia at all either.

This will certainly alienate South Korea to an extent, but it does not mean South Korea should just be abandoned. It should just not be a priority or a point of consternation. It is not worth the confrontation either with Koreans or with China. They should just decide for themselves who they want to align with. I think it would be much more productive moving troops that are stationed there elsewhere. America should focus on its navy and be a more sea-based power in Asia. On Taiwan, I believe China’s claim to the island are quite strong ethnically, culturally, linguistically, and politically. The provocation of continuing to use the nationalist flag as well is not something that can be easily forgotten. Bigger problem for the US is that TSMC has been eating the chip industry’s lunch and all the CPU production capacity is being focused on probably the absolute worst location. A war over Taiwan in the coming decades is certainly not worth it and likely would not even have mass support that would be required from surrounding Asian countries to even make it winnable. If such a war were lost, the entire American position in Asia would be lost. It is better to simply hedge bets in dealing with Asia. Too many people seem to want to deny the existence of China and stick their heads in the sand. Somebody needs to start telling people in Taiwan if you (or for their children) do not want to be under the leadership of the communists, you need to find a way out of the island. I think at their core many of them know this, but do not have it in themselves to abandon the place they were born. But, it is also why TSMC is building in Arizona or why Living Stream Ministry was established in Anaheim. As much as the Chinese are better, it ultimately does not mean anything if under such a government.

But in the mean time, we won. I do not know whose genius idea it was to combine 公明党 and the 民主党, but in any case nobody knew what 中道 meant. Then if you look at 参政, 国民, and 維新 the victory becomes even larger. It was truly nothing short of a bloodbath in Japan. Long live the LDP. I do not like how the book is saying America should mediate between Korea and Japan.⁵ Like with Cambodia and Thailand, I do not particularly care what reasons Korea has, I have absolute loyalty to Japan. Written during the Obama administration. Good riddance.

References 🔗

Cha, Victor D. “Bridging the Gap: The Strategic Context of the 1965 Korea-Japan Normalization Treaty.” Korean Studies 20, no. 1 (1996): 123–60. https://doi.org/10.1353/ks.1996.0009.

Glosserman, Brad, and Scott Snyder. The Japan-South Korea identity clash: East Asian Security and the United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017.