ABSTRACT
The current South China Sea issue is showing the appearance of a major power game between the US and People’s Republic of China (PRC). On 4 October 2018, US Vice President Pence delivered a speech that is said to be comparable to British Prime Minister Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech of 5 March 1946 that heralded the beginning of the Cold War. Vice President Pence accused China of constructing artificial islands and military bases in the South China Sea after President Xi Jinping had declared that the “the PRC has no intention of militarizing the area.” Pence declared that US forces will not withdraw from the “Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs).” 1 However, the US is not a claimant in the South China Sea and does not take sides on the territorial disputes but regards China’s militarization of the South China Sea as a major issue and has been continuing with FONOPs to demonstrate its opposition. Although, Japan is not an actor concerned with the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the Japanese government has accused China of militarizing the area as “a change in the status quo by force.” Also, Japan’s approach to the South China Sea issues differs from the approach by the US. This chapter aims to consider the implications of Japan’s policy towards the South China Sea. First, it looks back on the territorial disputes in the South China Sea to provide a background. We need to understand the gaps in situational awareness between the US and Japan. Then, it will analyze the significance of US opposition to China’s militarization of the South China Sea since the US attitude may have a huge impact on Japan’s policy towards the South China Sea.
