121. The U.S.-Japan Alliance in an Age of Elevated U.S.-China Relations
- Author:
- Brian Harding
- Publication Date:
- 03-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for American Progress - CAP
- Abstract:
- The U.S.-Japan alliance has been an extraordinary public good for more than half a century. Since the beginning of the Cold War, it has provided stability in a potentially volatile region and enabled Japan and its neighbors to forge the most dynamic regional economy in the world. Today, the alliance remains rooted in shared values and interests and continues to make the region and the world more secure and prosperous, with cooperation ranging from countering North Korean missile threats to development coordination in Africa.1 But the U.S.-Japan alliance is now far from the only relationship of substance for the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. Most notably, relations with China have become an enormous focus for U.S. policymakers in recent years and will continue to be a high priority for the foreseeable future.2 While fundamentally different from the U.S.-Japan relationship, the elevation of U.S.-China relations as a major focal point for U.S. foreign policy raises a critical question: How can policymakers ensure that the rise of U.S.-China relations does not come at the expense of the U.S.-Japan relationship?
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Military Strategy, Bilateral Relations, and Alliance
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Asia, North America, and United States of America