Japan’s Long-Awaited Return to Geopolitics
In geopolitics, rarely do we realize that a tectonic shift is taking place the moment it is happening. There are a few exceptions: the Soviet Union’s launch of the world’s first space satellite, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the 9/11 attacks. These moments were historical inflection points that were plain for all to see.
Russia’s war in Ukraine, which marks the return of naked, World War II-style aggression to Europe, is surely another such inflection point. But there is a second, less-noticed shift taking place right now that has at least as much power to alter history: the return of Japan as a major geopolitical actor.
~ READ MORE HERE (Foreign Policy) ~
Is South Korea Going Nuclear?
South Korea is currently facing the highest nuclear threat in the world. This might not be a universal perception, but it is what many Korean people believe. North Korea’s “Law on the DPRK’s Policy on Nuclear Forces,” announced in September 2022, outlined a new nuclear doctrine that pledges to use (tactical) nuclear weapons once war breaks out, or even preemptively in some cases, making it essentially the most aggressive nuclear doctrine in history. To prove that these were not empty threats, North Korea conducted a military drill for its “tactical nuclear operation units”
Under these kinds of threats, South Koreans are seriously asking, can extended deterrence still work? Even the South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol raised the possibility of the Republic of Korea (ROK or South Korea) building its own nuclear weapons in response. US strategists need to understand these concerns as well as the limits of extended deterrence and prepare for potential alternative futures.
~ READ MORE HERE (38 North) ~
China’s Spy Balloon Proves The U.S. Homeland Is Vulnerable
Before 9/11, most Americans believed they were safe from foreign attack. The smoking holes in the heart of New York City and the side of the Pentagon set them straight.
Once word about Xi’s hot-air overflight got out, the Administration’s initial reaction was to obsess over the politics of the problem. Rather than address the problem directly and forthrightly, they deflected and obfuscated to try to obscure the fact that they had failed to respond appropriately. We’ve seen this before when they abandoned Afghanistan. Balloon-gate was no different.
~ READ MORE HERE (Heritage) ~ |
