Monday, June 19, 2017

Accept the Home Field Advantage

Japan is right to worry:

Concern is rising in Japan the Chinese military may be training for a future mission in the disputed Senkaku Islands, where Beijing has been dispatching coast guard ships at increasing frequency in recent years.

Quoting the Pentagon's 2017 survey of the Chinese military, Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported Thursday the People's Liberation Army could be training for a raid of outlying areas, including the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands, also claimed by China and Taiwan.

In a section on China's amphibious capabilities, the report from the U.S. Department of Defense states the "PLA Army focuses its amphibious efforts on a Taiwan invasion while the PLA Navy Marine Corps focuses on small island seizures in the South China Sea, with a potential emerging mission in the Senkakus."

Japan needs to dig in on their islands to defend them rather than hope they can win a race with the Chinese to plant troops on the ground.

Because if China wins the race, will Japan eject the Chinese when China makes nuclear threats to hold what the Chinese take?