ABSTRACT
The US National Security Strategy 2015 states that American alliances in Asia underwrite security throughout Asia and the Pacific, with the US-Japan alliance hinging on the principles of deterrence and balance of power, taking stock of the growing challenges from a rising China. Regardless of China's economic trajectory, its investment in military capabilities is likely to continue, thus, the country's assertive behaviour and expansive claims to territory are unlikely to abate and could intensify. In territorial disputes, coercive diplomacy is sometimes used to persuade the adversary to halt some action it is undertaking with regard to the actual disputed territory. The Chinese and Japanese views towards each other have been compounded by an amalgam of daunting challenges, including historical baggage, unremitting strategic distrust, unmistakable clashes of national interests, and even vaguely defined social stereotypes. The foundational basis of the A2/AD strategy is denying access, and ability, for the adversary to manoeuvre, near and within, a military theatre of operation.
