World War 3 warning: China’s major advantage over US in military battle laid bare
CHINA would have a major advantage over the US in the event of a World War 3 scenario over Japan, an Asian policy expert warned Express.co.uk.
China and Japan’s dispute over East China Sea islands explained
Chinese authorities have reportedly warned crews to stay away from the Senkaku Islands to avoid further tension with Tokyo. It came as Japan said it would respond if Chinese fishing vessels returned to the waters around the disputed chain of islands after Beijing’s summer fishing ban in the East China Sea expired on Sunday. Earlier this month, Japanese Defence Minister Taro Kono said his country's Self-Defence Forces would "act firmly when necessary" if Chinese vessels intensify their activities around the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan controls and calls the Senkakus.
The Senkaku Islands, all of which are uninhabited, have long been the cause of sour China-Japan ties.
Sean King, senior vice-president of Park Strategies in New York and an affiliated scholar at University of Notre Dame’s Liu Institute, told Express.co.uk that the islands would likely be the single source of any armed conflict in the region.
Japan is a pacifist country, a policy that was written into its constitution shortly after it surrendered as an Imperial power in 1947.
Then, in 1960, the US officially committed itself to protecting Japan from any impending danger; this danger in decades passed having taken the form of China.
The Senkakus have long since been a point of contention, with both China and Japan laying historical claim to them.
Japan currently controls the eight landmasses, and it is widely thought that if China were to attempt to capture them, the US would step in.
However, as Mr King explained, this isn't to say that the US would be successful, as China would essentially have a "home advantage".
He said: "The US has 50,000 troops in Japan, most of whom are in Okinawa, which is nearby; it has 23,000 troops in South Korea who could be called on in case of contingency, and however many hours away the US has more troops in Hawaii and Guam.
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"So America's military power is still bigger than China's, added to this is the fact we've got more war time and experience: Iraq, Afghanistan, and everywhere else.
"But one problem is that we'd be fighting in China's backyard, not here.
"So China has the advantage of being on home turf almost, or at least almost on home turf.
"China would be fighting much closer to home so they'd have an advantage there.
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"I would think in a spat over the Senkaku Islands depending on the situation, I do think the US would be in a position to defend Japan."
US intervention may not only be bound in its commitment to Japan.
The islands are also key because they are close to shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and lie near potential oil and gas reserves.
They are also in a strategically significant position, amid rising competition between the US and China for military primacy in the Asia-Pacific region.
With the most recent reported move by China to steer clear of the islands, many have noted it coincides with worsening relations with the US.
The Japanese news agency Kyodo has reported that Chinese fishing fleets have been told not to approach the Diaoyus after the ban is lifted.
Fishing crews said they had been told by the authorities in the southeastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang not to come within 30 nautical miles, or 56 kilometres, of the uninhabited islets, the report said.