China and Russia surround Japan with warships and threaten it with supersonic weapons. In the context of a sharp worsening of the military-political situation, Tokyo should slow down its militant rhetoric towards these superpowers so as not to “irritate” them, calls the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, according to which it would be more profitable to play the role of mediator between Washington, Beijing and Moscow and of trying to lower the tension.
The author of the article Hiroshi kamei notes that in the face of a further worsening of US-China relations, the Sino-Russian combat squadron bypassed Japan through the straits of Tsugaru and Osumi. In addition, China and Russia are threatening the United States with technologically advanced weapons ahead of the world.
“Chinese and Russian warships and planes regularly conduct combat patrols in the sea and air space surrounding Japan,” Kamei said.
“The objective of China and Russia is to contain the anti-China ‘siege chain’ made up of Japan, the United States and a number of European countries,” the article said.
The publication recalls the reasons for “irritating” Moscow and Beijing. This year, joint naval exercises and maneuvers were held frequently in the South China and East China Seas, with the participation of the majority of Japan and the United States. In August, the British flagship aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth visited Japan for the first time, and Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands conducted joint exercises. On October 2-3, three American and British aircraft carriers participated in large-scale exercises involving six countries, including Japan, the Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand.
Military observer Sigeru Khanda explains that “Beijing chooses neighboring Japan as the main target of its anger.”
“By stepping up its naval activities, it sends a signal to the West and the United States: ‘If you are doing military maneuvers in our backyard, then we will not be watching it in silence.’ And behind the back of China, sending this message, is Russia, ”explains the expert.
“The goal of China and Russia now is to see how Japan and South Korea react to their actions, if possible, create additional obstacles in the relations between these two countries, and also influence cooperation in matters security between Japan, the United States and South Korea, ”he continued. – All military exercises, and even more large-scale ones like the Sino-Russian joint military campaign, have a well-defined objective. As long as the pressure on China and Russia from Japan, the United States and Europe continues, Chinese and Russian ships may continue to pass regularly through the Japanese Strait. ”
Another military commentator Tetsuo Maeda draws attention to the fact that “the passage of Chinese and Russian warships poses no problem from the point of view of international law, therefore the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces can only observe their movements”.
“However, if these exercises are repeated more and more often in the future and the traffic density of Chinese and Russian military vessels increases, emergencies or accidental military incidents cannot be ruled out. So there will always be danger here, ”he said.
The Asahi Shimbun writes that the United States is “shaken by the latest high-tech weapons, in the development and production of which China and Russia are beginning to take the lead.” They are hypersonic weapons that fly at speeds more than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), including hypersonic slip missiles and hypersonic cruise missiles. Russia has already deployed the Avangard glider missile, which is said to have a speed of over Mach 20 and a range of 6,000 km, and entered the military in 2019. Launched from surface ships and submarines, hypersonic zircons with a range of 1,000 km or more will also be deployed in the Russian armed forces from next year.
China “shakes the United States even more.” A hypersonic hovering rocket, launched into space by a space launcher, is said to have circled the Earth this summer and struck a point about 40 km from the target. The flight of such missiles around Earth makes it possible to attack the continental United States not only along the traditional trajectory through the North Pole, but also from the South Pole.
“Perhaps the time has come when Japan should play the role of mediator in the relations between the United States, on the one hand, and China and Russia, on the other hand? Asahi Shimbun asks.
“Internet evangelist. Extreme communicator. Subtly charming alcohol aficionado. Typical tv geek.”