1

Balancing the Geo-Political Playing Field of the Far East as of 2014

Omar Alansari-Kreger

The Japanese surrender officially brought the Second World War to a close, but
the victors didnt anticipate that the rise of China would prompt a militantly hawkish
awakening of Japan decades later. That stands as an inevitable eventuality because a
nation like Japan wont tolerate any kind of foreign subjugation to a regional power; that
is especially true if the latter is Chinese. The geo-political paradigm that has determined
the tone of the status quo of the Far East was staged by the United States with the
intent of affirming its control over a conquered empire while effectively keeping Soviet
influence at bay. There is a stark reason why the United States didnt want Soviet forces
to invade Japan from the north in an effort to forge its complete surrender; the prospect
of a North and South Japan wouldve destabilized the region providing the Soviets with
a greater footing deep into the heart of the Far East.
The armchair Allied generals that witnessed a victory over Imperial Japan in
addition to the signing of an armistice with the North Koreans couldve have predicted
the Sino-Soviet split. That divide has been one of the main reasons why China stands
as the world power it is today because it opened itself to the West decades before
dtente was widely celebrated across both the Western and Eastern blocs respectively.
Obviously, there is no Soviet Union anyone and as a result the United States cant
marshal Beijing into the role of a geo-political proxy that can regionally undermine
foreign policy directives from Moscow. The end of the Cold War left the Chinese as a
regional power and its technological leap into state controlled fringe capitalism has left it
with hegemonic designs of its own. The Chinese arent moved by protestations from
Japan over territorial squabbles of remote islands that are sparsely used by both
nations.
However, in some cases the Chinese still have a score to settle with the
Japanese seven decades later and that explains why Japan has taken a step toward
offensive military preparedness. By pursuing territorial claims against the Japanese, the
Chinese have demonstrated the power of their relevance which forces Japan to take
responsive action. It is always ironic to observe how history repeats itself in gradual
strides, but the United States finds itself in a position where it can directly manipulate
Japanese ambitions because the former wrote the latters constitution and that provides
a unique countermeasure ensuring that the Chinese dont become too regionally
pervasive. The miracle of the Chinese economic rebound was achieved when American
multinationals started exporting their operations to Chinese sweatshops; that drastically
reduced costs for consumers while enabling producers to derive a fat profit.
2

Chinese fringe capitalism is entirely subsidized by a Unitarian state that tolerates
zero dissent; appetites for world power doesnt exactly offer an equal opportunity
advantage for the worlds most heavily populated nation which is why political dissent is
on the rise. Any stride that is made toward world hegemony in favor of the Chinese is
actually in favor of its own elite one percent that authoritatively rules with the big brother
apparatus of the all pervasive communist party. If the Japanese can configure a way to
tap into these social imbalances in Chinese society, popular protestations will occur
effectively redirecting Chinese attention back into their own nation and away from the
designs of hegemony.