East-West Center 103d ago

Japan’s China Grand Strategy: A Blueprint for Transatlantic Players? How best to explain the quiet security recalibration by European players, especially G7 members, of their relations vis-à-vis China? These initiatives were in part a reactions to Chinese assertiveness, the need to achieve economic security, and the emergence of interlinkages between the East Asian and European security theatres following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine; many were also in response to US demand signals. Less appreciated, however, is that Europe partly emulated and sometimes worked in lockstep with the Japanese government, the first G7 player to recalibrate its foreign and security policy into a China-focused grand strategy. The presentation presents the novel elements of Japanese statecraft vis-à-vis China, such as strategic narratives, infrastructure connectivity, a quiet security embrace of Taiwan, and defense cooperation with G7-plus players. It does so to argue that much of the transatlantic security ententes on China went through a process of socialization that originated in Japan and US-Japan alliance politics, later reinforced by US-centered transmission and minilateral frameworks, in particular the G7+. The talk will also probe the tenability of alternative routes to salvage Transatlantic and Indo-Pacific security cooperation, suggesting potential solutions and ways to manage policy expectations. The views expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent those of the East-West Center.